CAROLINE  COWLES  RICHARD' 


Caroline  Cowles  Richards 

(From    a   daguerreotype   taken   in    I860) 


VILLAGE  LIFE  IN 
AMERICA 


1852-1872 

INCLUDING   THE    PERIOD   OF  THE 

AMERICAN  CIVIL  WAR  AS  TOLD  IN 

THE  DIARY  OF  A  SCHOOL-GIRL 

By 
CAROLINE   COWLES   RICHARDS 


WITH    AN    INTRODUCTION 
BY 

MARGARET    E.    SANGSTER 
NEW    AND    ENLARGED    EDITION 


NEW  YORK 

HENRY   HOLT   AND   COMPANY 
1913 


COPYRIGHT,  1908, 

BY 
CAROLINE   RICHARDS   CLARKE 

COPYRIGHT,  1913, 

BY 
HENRY  HOLT  AND  COMPANY 


THE  QUINH  A  BOOEN  CO.  PRESS 
RAHWAY,  N.  I, 


College 
library 


F 


To 

My  dear    brothers, 

JAMES    AND  JOHN, 

who,  by  precept  and  example, 

have  encouraged  me, 
and    to  my  beloved  sister, 

ANNA, 

whose  faith  and  affection 
have  been  my  chief  inspiration, 

this  little  volume 
b  lovingly  inscribed. 
NAPLES,  N.  Y. 


1158079 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION,  BY  MRS.  MARGARET  E.  SANGSTER  .  .  ix 

THE  VILLAGES xiii 

THE  VILLAGERS xiv 

1852. — FAMILY  NOTES — FAMOUS  SCHOOL-GIRLS — HOOP 

SKIRTS I 

1853. — RUNAWAYS — BIBLE  STUDY — ESSAYS — CATECHISM  10 
1854. — LAKE  PICNIC — PYRAMID  OF  BEAUTY — GOVERNOR 

CLARK 20 

1855. — PREACHERS — JAMES  AND  JOHN — VOTES  FOR  WOMEN  43 
1856. — THE  FIRE — SLEIGHING  AND  PRAYER — FATHER'S 

ADVICE 52 

1857. — TRUANTS    AND    PICKLES — CANDLE    STORIES — THE 

SNUFFERS 77 

1858. — TABLEAUX  AND  CHARADES — SPIRITUAL  SEANCE  .  95 
1859. — E.  M.  MORSE — LETTER  FROM  THE  NORTH  POLE  .  106 
1860. — GYMNASTICS — TROUBLESOME  COMFORTS  .  .  .118 
1861. — PRESIDENT  LINCOLN'S  INAUGURATION — CIVIL  WAR — 

SCHOOL  ENTHUSIASM 130 

1862. — GOUGH   LECTURES — PRESIDENT'S  CALL  FOR  THREE 

HUNDRED  THOUSAND  MEN — MISSION  ZEAL  .       .     138 
1863. — A  SOLDIER'S  DEATH — GENERAL  M'CLELLAN'S  LET- 
TER— PRESIDENT  LINCOLN'S  ADDRESS  AT  GETTYS- 
BURG    148 

1864. — GRANDFATHER  BEALS*   DEATH — ANNA   GRADUATES    162 


vi  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

1865. — PRESIDENT  LINCOLN'S  SECOND  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

— FALL  OF  RICHMOND — MURDER  OF  LINCOLN  .  .  176 

1866. — FREEDMAN'S  FAIR — GENERAL  GRANT  AND  ADMIRAL 

FARRAGUT  VISIT  CANANDAIGUA 200 

1867. — BROTHER  JOHN  AND  WIFE  Go  TO  LONDON — LECTURE 

BY  CHARLES  DICKENS 208 

1871. — HON.  GEORGE  H.  STUART  SPEAKS  IN  CANANDAI- 
GUA— A  LARGE  COLLECTION  .  .  .  .210 

1872. — GRANDMOTHER  BEALS'  DEATH — BIOGRAPHY      .       .211 

1880. — ANNA'S  MARRIAGE          225, 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

CAROLINE  COWLES  RICHARDS Frontispiece 

FACING 
PAGE 

GRANDFATHER  BEALS 8 

GRANDMOTHER  BEALS 8 

MR.  NOAH  T.  CLARKE 30 

Miss  UPHAM 30 

FIRST  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH 38 

REV.  OLIVER  E.  DAGGETT,  D.D 54 

JUDGE  HENRY  W.  TAYLOR 54 

Miss  ZILPHA  CLARK 54 

" FRANKIE  RICHARDSON" 54 

HORACE  FINLEY 54 

TOM  EDDY  AND  EUGENE  STONE 66 

"  UNCLE  DAVID  DUDLEY  FIELD  " 66 

GRANDMOTHER'S  ROCKING  CHAIR 88 

THE  GRANDFATHER  CLOCK 88 

HON.  FRANCIS  GRANGER      . 100 

MR.  GIDEON  GRANGER 100 

THE  OLD  CANANDAIGUA  ACADEMY 124 

THE  ONTARIO  FEMALE  SEMINARY 132 

"  OLD  FRIEND  BURLING  " 138 

MADAME  ANNA  BISHOP 138 

"  ABBIE  CLARK  AND  I  HAD  OUR  AMBROTYPES  TAKEN  TO- 
DAY"    152 

"  MR.  NOAH  T.  CLARKE'S  BROTHER  AND  I "      .       .      .  152 


vii 


PUBLISHERS'    NOTE 

After  this  book  was  in  type,  on  March  29,  1913, 
the  author,  Mrs.  Caroline  Richards  Clarke,  died  at 
Naples,  New  York. 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  Diary  of  Caroline  Cowles  Richards  fell  into 
my  hands,  so  to  speak,  out  of  space.  I  had  no 
previous  acquaintance  with  the  author,  and  I  sat 
down  to  read  the  book  one  evening  in  no  especial 
mood  of  anticipation.  From  the  first  page  to  the 
last  my  attention  was  riveted.  To  call  it  fascinating 
barely  expresses  the  quality  of  the  charm.  Caroline 
Richards  and  her  sister  Anna,  having  early  lost 
their  mother,  were  sent  to  the  home  of  her  parents 
in  Canandaigua,  New  York,  where  they  were 
brought  up  in  the  simplicity  and  sweetness  of  a  re- 
fined household,  amid  Puritan  traditions.  The  chil- 
dren were  allowed  to  grow  as  plants  do,  absorbing 
vitality  from  the  atmosphere  around  them.  What- 
ever there  was  of  gracious  formality  in  the  man- 
ners of  aristocratic  people  of  the  period,  came  to 
them  as  their  birthright,  while  the  spirit  of  the 
truest  democracy  pervaded  their  home.  Of  this 
Diary  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  it  is  a  revela- 
tion of  childhood  in  ideal  conditions. 

The  Diary  begins  in  1852,  and  is  continued  until 
1872.  Those  of  us  who  lived  in  the  latter  half  of 
the  nineteenth  century  recall  the  swift  transitions, 
the  rapid  march  of  science  and  various  changes  in 

ix 


x  INTRODUCTION 

social  customs,  and  as  we  meet  allusions  to  these 
in  the  leaves  of  the  girl's  Diary  we  live  our  past 
over  again  with  peculiar  pleasure. 

Far  more  has  been  told  us  concerning  the  South 
during  the  Civil  War  than  concerning  the  North. 
Fiction  has  found  the  North  a  less  romantic  field, 
and  the  South  has  been  chosen  as  the  background  of 
many  a  stirring  novel,  while  only  here  and  there 
has  an  author  been  found  who  has  known  the  deep- 
hearted  loyalty  of  the  Northern  States  and  woven 
the  story  into  narrative  form.  The  girl  who  grew 
up  in  Canandaigua  was  intensely  patriotic,  and  from 
day  to  day  vividly  chronicled  what  she  saw,  felt, 
and  heard.  Her  Diary  is  a  faithful  record  of  im- 
pressions of  that  stormy  time  in  which  the  nation 
underwent  a  baptism  of  fire.  The  realism  of  her 
paragraphs  is  unsurpassed. 

Beyond  the  personal  claim  of  the  Diary  and  the 
certainty  to  give  pleasure  to  a  host  of  readers,  the 
author  appeals  to  Americans  in  general  because  of 
her  family  and  her  friends.  Her  father  and  grand- 
father were  Presbyterian  ministers.  Her  Grand- 
father Richards  was  for  twenty  years  President  of 
Auburn  Theological  Seminary.  Her  brother,  John 
Morgan  Richards  of  London,  has  recently  given  to 
the  world  the  Life  and  Letters  of  his  gifted  and 
lamented  daughter,  Pearl  Mary-Terese  Craigie, 
known  best  as  John  Oliver  Hobbes.  The  famous 
Field  brothers  and  their  father,  Rev.  David  Dudley 
Field,  and  their  nephew,  Justice  David  J.  Brewer, 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  were  her  kins- 
men. Miss  Hannah  Upham,  a  distinguished 
teacher  mentioned  in  the  Diary,  belongs  to  the 
group  of  American  women  to  whom  we  owe  the 
initiative  of  what  we  now  choose  to  call  the  higher 
education  of  the  sex.  She,  in  common  with  Mary 
Lyon,  Emma  Willard,  and  Eliza  Bayliss  Wheaton, 
gave  a  forward  impulse  to  the  liberal  education  of 
women,  and  our  privilege  is  to  keep  their  memory 
green.  They  are  to  be  remembered  by  what  they 
have  done  and  by  the  tender  reminiscences  found 
here  and  there  like  pressed  flowers  in  a  herbarium, 
in  such  pages  as  these. 

Miss  Richards'  marriage  to  Mr.  Edmund  C. 
Clarke  occurred  in  1866.  Mr.  Clarke  is  a  veteran 
of  the  Civil  War  and  a  Commander  in  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic.  His  brother,  Noah  T. 
Clarke,  was  the  Principal  of  Canandaigua  Academy 
for  the  long  term  of  forty  years.  The  dignified, 
amusing  and  remarkable  personages  who  were  Mrs. 
Clarke's  contemporaries,  teachers,  or  friends  are 
pictured  in  her  Diary  just  as  they  were,  so  that  we 
meet  them  on  the  street,  in  the  drawing-room,  in 
church,  at  prayer-meeting,  anywhere  and  every- 
where, and  grasp  their  hands  as  if  we,  too,  were 
in  their  presence. 

Wherever  this  little  book  shall  go  it  will  carry 
good  cheer.  Fun  and  humor  sparkle  through  the 
story  of  this  childhood  and  girlhood  so  that  the 
reader  will  be  cheated  of  ennui,  and  the  sallies'  of 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

the  little  sister  will  provoke  mirth  and  laughter  to 
brighten  dull  days.  I  have  read  thousands  of  books. 
I  have  never  read  one  which  has  given  me  more 
delight  than  this. 

MARGARET  E.  SANGSTER. 

GLEN  RIDGE,  NEW  JERSEY, 
June,  1911. 


THE   VILLAGES 

CANANDAIGUA,  NEW  YORK.— A  beautiful  village, 
the  county  seat  of  Ontario  County,  situated  at  the 
foot  of  Canandaigua  Lake,  which  is  called  "the 
gem  of  the  inland  lakes  "  of  Western  New  York, 
about  325  miles  from  New  York  city. 

NAPLES,  NEW  YORK.— A  small  village  at  the  head 
of  Canandaigua  Lake,  famous  for  its  vine-clad 
hills  and  unrivaled  scenery. 

GENEVA,  NEW  YORK.— A  beautiful  town  about  16 
miles  from  Canandaigua. 

EAST  BLOOMFIELD,  NEW  YORK.  — An  ideal 
farming  region  and  suburban  village  about  8  miles 
from  Canandaigua. 

PENN  YAN,  NEW  YORK.— The  county  seat  of 
Yates  County,  a  grape  center  upon  beautiful  Lake 
Keuka. 

ROCHESTER,  NEW  YORK.— A  flourishing  manu- 
facturing city,  growing  rapidly,  less  than  30  miles 
from  Canandaigua,  and  120  miles  from  Niagara 
Falls. 

AUBURN,  NEW  YORK.— Noted  for  its  Theological 
Seminary,  nearly  one  hundred  years  old,  and  for 
being  the  home  of  William  H.  Seward  and  other 
American  Statesmen. 


Xlll 


THE   VILLAGERS 


MR.  AND  MRS.  THOMAS  BEALS,    Grandfather  and  Grand- 
mother 


CAROLINE  AND  ANNA 
JAMES  AND  JOHN  RICHARDS 
"AUNT  ANN" 
"AUNT  MARY"  CARR 
"AUNT  GLORIANNA" 
"UNCLE  HENRY" 
"UNCLE  THOMAS"      . 
RKV.  O.  E.  DAGGETT,  D.D. 


NOAH  T.  CLARKE 

HON.  FRANCIS  GRANGER  . 
GENERAL  JOHN  A.  GRANGER 
GIDEON  GRANGER       . 
ALBERT  GRANGER     . 
JOHN  GREIG  .... 

MYRON   H.  CLARK 

JUDGE   H.  W.  TAYLOR 

E.  M.  MORSE  .... 

Miss  ZILPHA  CLARKE 
Miss  CAROLINE   CHESEBRO 
MRS.  GEORGE  WILLSON     . 
Miss  HANNAH   UPHAM 

MR.  FRED  THOMPSON 


Grandchildren  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Beals 


Sons  and  daughters  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beals 


Pastor  of  Canandaigua  Con- 
gregational Church 

Principal  Canandaigua 
Academy  for  Boys 

Postmaster-General ,  U.  S.  A. 
Of  New  York  State  Militia 
Son  of  Hon.  Francis 
Son  of  General  Granger 

Weal  thy  Scotsman  longtime 
resident  of  Canandaigua 

Governor  .State  of  New  York 
Prominent  lawyer  and  jurist 

A  leading  lawyer  in  Canan- 
daigua 

School  teacher  of  note 
>  Well-known  writers 

Eminent  instructress  and 
lady  principal  of  Ontario 
Female  Seminary 

Prominent  resident,  married 
Miss  Mary  Clark,  daughter 
of  Governor  Myron  H. 
Clark. 


THE  VILLAGERS 


xv 


School  Boys 


WILLIAM  T.  SCHLEY    . 
HORACE  M.  FINLEY     . 
ALBERT  MURRAY 
S.  GURNEY  LAPHAM    . 
CHARLES  COY 
ELLSWORTH   DAGGETT 
CHARLIE   PADDOCK      . 
MERRITT  C.  WILLCOX 
WILLIAM   H.  ADAMS     . 
GEORGE   N.  WILLIAMS 
WILLIS  P.  FISKE    . 
EDMUND  C.  CLARKE    , 


Residing  with  parents  in 
Canandaigua 


Law  Students 
[•  Teachers  in  Academy 


School  Girls 


LOUISA  FIELD 
MARY  WHEELER   . 
EMMA   WHEELER  . 
LAURA  CHAPIN      . 
JULIA  PHELPS 
MARY  PAUL     . 
BESSIE  SEYMOUR  . 
LUCILLA  FIELD      . 
MARY  FIELD    . 
ABBIE  CLARK 
SUSIE  DAGGETT     . 
FRANKIE  RICHARDSON 
FANNY   GAYLORD . 
MARY  COY 
HELEN   COY      . 
HATTIE   PADDOCK 
SARAH   ANTES 
LOTTIE   LAPHAM    . 
CLARA  WILSON      . 
FANNIE  PALMER   . 
RITIE  TYLER  . 


Residing  with  parents  in 
Canandaigua 


VILLAGE    LIFE  IN  AMERICA 

1852 

CANANDAIGUA,  N.  Y. 

November  21,  1852. — I  am  ten  years  old  to-day, 
and  I  think  I  will  write  a  journal  and  tell  who  I 
am  and  what  I  am  doing.  I  have  lived  with  my 
Grandfather  and  Grandmother  Beals  ever  since  I 
was  seven  years  old,  and  Anna,  too,  since  she  was 
four.  Our  brothers,  James  and  John,  came  too, 
but  they  are  at  East  Bloomfield  at  Mr.  Stephen 
Clark's  Academy.  Miss  Laura  Clark  of  Naples  is 
their  teacher. 

Anna  and  I  go  to  school  at  District  No.  n.  Mr. 
James  C.  Cross  is  our  teacher,  and  some  of  the 
scholars  say  he  is  cross  by  name  and  cross  by  nature, 
but  I  like  him.  He  gave  me  a  book  by  the  name 
of  "  Noble  Deeds  of  American  Women,"  for  reward 
of  merit,  in  my  reading  class.  To-day,  a  nice  old 
gentleman,  by  the  name  of  Mr.  William  Wood, 
visited  our  school.  He  is  Mrs.  Nat  Gorham's  uncle, 
and  Wood  Street  is  named  for  him.  He  had  a 
beautiful  pear  in  his  hand  and  said  he  would  give 
it  to  the  boy  or  girl  who  could  spell  "  virgaloo," 
for  that  was  the  name  of  the  pear.  I  spelt  it  that 
way,  but  it  was  not  right.  A  little  boy,  named 


2  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1852 

William  Schley,  spelt  it  right  and  he  got  the  pear. 
I  wish  I  had,  but  I  can't  even  remember  now  how 
he  spelt  it.  If  the  pear  was  as  hard  as  the  name  I 
don't  believe  any  one  would  want  it,  but  I  don't  see 
how  they  happened  to  give  such  a  hard  name  to 
such  a  nice  pear.  Grandfather  says  perhaps  Mr. 
Wood  will  bring  in  a  Seckle  pear  some  day,  so  I 
had  better  be  ready  for  him. 

Grandmother  told  us  such  a  nice  story  to-day  I 
am  going  to  write  it  down  in  my  journal.  I  think 
I  shall  write  a  book  some  day.  Miss  Caroline 
Chesebro  did,  and  I  don't  see  why  I  can't.  If  I  do, 
I  shall  put  this  story  in  it.  It  is  a  true  story  and 
better  than  any  I  found  in  three  story  books 
Grandmother  gave  us  to  read  this  week,  "  Peep  of 
Day,"  "  Line  Upon  Line,"  and  "  Precept  Upon  Pre- 
cept," but  this  story  was  better  than  them  all.  One 
night  Grandfather  was  locking  the  front  door  at 
nine  o'clock  and  he  heard  a  queer  sound,  like  a  baby 
crying.  So  he  unlocked  the  door  and  found  a 
bandbox  on  the  stoop,  and  the  cry  seemed  to  come 
from  inside  of  it.  So  he  took  it  up  and  brought  it 
into  the  dining-room  and  called  the  two  girls,  who 
had  just  gone  upstairs  to  bed.  They  came  right 
down  and  opened  the  box,  and  there  was  a  poor 
little  girl  baby,  crying  as  hard  as  could  be.  They 
took  it  out  and  rocked  it  and  sung  to  it  and  got 
some  milk  and  fed  it  and  then  sat  up  all  night 
with  it,  by  the  fire.  There  was  a  paper  pinned  on 
the  baby's  dress  with  her  name  on  it,  "  Lily  T. 


1852]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  3 

LaMott,"  and  a  piece  of  poetry  called  "  Pity  the 
Poor  Orphan."  The  next  morning,  Grandfather 
went  to  the  overseer  of  the  poor  and  he  said  it 
should  be  taken  to  the  county  house,  so  our  hired 
man  got  the  horse  and  buggy,  and  one  of  the  girls 
carried  the  baby  and  they  took  it  away.  There  was 
a  piece  in  the  paper  about  it,  and  Grandmother 
pasted  it  into  her  "  Jay's  Morning  and  Evening 
Exercises,"  and  showed  it  to  us.  It  said,  "  A  De- 
posit After  Banking  Hours."  "  Two  suspicious 
looking  females  were  seen  about  town  in  the  after- 
noon, one  of  them  carrying  an  infant.  They  took 
a  train  early  in  the  morning  without  the  child. 
They  probably  secreted  themselves  in  Mr.  Beals' 
yard  and  if  he  had  not  taken  the  box  in  they  would 
have  carried  it  somewhere  else."  When  Grand- 
father told  the  clerks  in  the  bank  about  it  next 
morning,  Mr.  Bunnell,  who  lives  over  by  Mr.  Dag- 
gett's,  on  the  park,  said,  if  it  had  been  left  at  some 
people's  houses  it  would  not  have  been  sent  away. 
Grandmother  says  they  heard  that  the  baby  was 
adopted  afterwards  by  some  nice  people  in  Geneva. 
People  must  think  this  is  a  nice  place  for  children, 
for  they  had  eleven  of  their  own  before  we  came. 
Mrs.  McCoe  was  here  to  call  this  afternoon  and  she 
looked  at  us  and  said :  "  It  must  be  a  great  re- 
sponsibility, Mrs.  Beals."  Grandmother  said  she 
thought  "  her  strength  would  be  equal  to  her  day." 
That  is  one  of  her  favorite  verses.  She  said  Mrs. 
McCoe  never  had  any  children  of  her  own  and  per- 


4  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1852 

haps  that  is  the  reason  she  looks  so  sad  at  us.  Per- 
haps some  one  will  leave  a  bandbox  and  a  baby  at 
her  door  some  dark  night. 

Saturday. — Our  brother  John  drove  over  from 
East  Bloomfield  to-day  to  see  us  and  brought  Julia 
Smedley  with  him,  who  is  just  my  age.  John  lives 
at  Mr.  Ferdinand  Beebe's  and  goes  to  school  and 
Julia  is  Mr.  Beebe's  niece.  They  make  quantities 
of  maple  sugar  out  there  and  they  brought  us  a 
dozen  little  cakes.  They  were  splendid.  I  offered 
John  one  and  he  said  he  would  rather  throw  it  over 
the  fence  than  to  eat  it.  I  can't  understand  that. 
Anna  had  the  faceache  to-day  and  I  told  her  that 
I  would  be  the  doctor  and  make  her  a  ginger  poul- 
tice. I  thought  I  did  it  exactly  right  but  when  I 
put  it  on  her  face  she  shivered  and  said :  "  Carrie, 
you  make  lovely  poultices  only  they  are  so  cold." 
I  suppose  I  ought  to  have  warmed  it. 

Tuesday. — Grandfather  took  us  to  ride  this  after- 
noon and  let  us  ask  Bessie  Seymour  to  go  with  us. 
We  rode  on  the  plank  road  to  Chapinville  and  had 
to  pay  2  cents  at  the  toll  gate,  both  ways.  We  met 
a  good  many  people  and  Grandfather  bowed  to  them 
and  said,  "  How  do  you  do,  neighbor?" 

We  asked  him  what  their  names  were  and  he  said 
he  did  not  know.  We  went  to  see  Mr.  Munson, 
who  runs  the  mill  at  Chapinville.  He  took  us 
through  the  mill  and  let  us  get  weighed  and  took 


1852]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  5 

us  over  to  his  house  and  out  into  the  barn-yard  to 
see  the  pigs  and  chickens  and  we  also  saw  a  colt 
which  was  one  day  old.  Anna  just  wrote  in  her 
journal  that  "  it  was  a  very  amusing  site." 

Sunday. — Rev.  Mr.  Kendall,  of  East  Bloomfield, 
preached  to-day.  His  text  was  from  Job  26,  14: 
"  Lo  these  are  parts  of  his  ways,  but  how  little  a 
portion  is  heard  of  him."  I  could  not  make  out 
what  he  meant.  He  is  James'  and  John's  minister. 

Wednesday. — Captain  Menteith  was  at  our  house 
to  dinner  to-day  and  he  tried  to  make  Anna  and  me 
laugh  by  snapping  his  snuff-box  under  the  table. 
He  is  a  very  jolly  man,  I  think. 

Thursday. — Father  and  Uncle  Edward  Richards 
came  to  see  us  yesterday  and  took  us  down  to  Mr. 
Corson's  store  and  told  us  we  could  have  anything 
we  wanted.  So  we  asked  for  several  kinds  of 
candy,  stick  candy  and  lemon  drops  and  bulls'  eyes, 
and  then  they  got  us  two  rubber  balls  and  two  jump- 
ing ropes  with  handles  and  two  hoops  and  sticks  to 
roll  them  with  and  two  red  carnelian  rings  and  two 
bracelets.  We  enjoyed  getting  them  very  much, 
and  expect  to  have  lots  of  fun.  They  went  out  to 
East  Bloomfield  to  see  James  and  John,  and  father 
is  going  to  take  them  to  New  Orleans.  We  hate 
to  have  them  go. 


6  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1852 

Friday. — We  asked  Grandmother  if  we  could 
have  some  hoop  skirts  like  the  seminary  girls  and 
she  said  no,  we  were  not  old  enough.  When  we 
were  downtown  Anna  bought  a  reed  for  10  cents 
and  ran  it  into  the  hem  of  her  underskirt  and  says 
she  is  going  to  wear  it  to  school  to-morrow.  I 
think  Grandmother  will  laugh  out  loud  for  once, 
when  she  sees  it,  but  I  don't  think  Anna  will  wear 
it  to  school  or  anywhere  else.  She  wouldn't  want 
to  if  she  knew  how  terrible  it  looked. 

I  threaded  a  dozen  needles  on  a  spool  of  thread 
for  Grandmother,  before  I  went  to  school,  so  that 
she  could  slip  them  along  and  use  them  as  she  needed 
them.  She  says  it  is  a  great  help. 

Grandmother  says  I  will  have  a  great  deal  to 
answer  for,  because  Anna  looks  up  to  me  so  and 
tries  to  do  everything  that  I  do  and  thinks  whatever 
I  say  is  "  gospel  truth."  The  other  day  the  girls 
at  school  were  disputing  with  her  about  something 
and  she  said,  "  It  is  so,  if  it  ain't  so,  for  Calline 
said  so."  I  shall  have  to  "  toe  the  mark,"  as  Grand- 
father says,  if  she  keeps  watch  of  me  all  the  time 
and  walks  in  my  footsteps. 

We  asked  Grandmother  this  evening  if  we  could 
sit  out  in  the  kitchen  with  Bridget  and  Hannah  and 
the  hired  man,  Thomas  Holleran.  She  said  we 
could  take  turns  and  each  stay  ten  minutes  by  the 
clock.  It  gave  us  a  little  change.  I  read  once  that 
"  variety  is  the  spice  of  life."  They  sit  around  the 
table  and  each  one  has  a  candle,  and  Thomas  reads 


1852]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  7 

aloud  to  the  girls  while  they  sew.  He  and  Bridget 
are  Catholics,  but  Hannah  is  a  member  of  our 
Church.  The  girls  have  lived  here  always,  I  think, 
but  I  don't  know  for  sure,  as  I  have  not  lived  here 
always  myself,  but  we  have  to  get  a  new  hired  man 
sometimes.  Grandmother  says  if  you  are  as  good 
to  your  girls  as  you  are  to  yourself  they  will  stay  a 
long  time.  I  am  sure  that  is  Grandmother's  rule. 
Mrs.  McCarty,  who  lives  on  Brook  Street  (some 
people  call  it  Cat  Alley  but  Grandmother  says  that  is 
not  proper),  washes  for  us  Mondays,  and  Grand- 
mother always  has  a  lunch  for  her  at  eleven  o'clock 
and  goes  out  herself  to  see  that  she  sits  down  and 
eats  it.  Mrs.  McCarty  told  us  Monday  that  Mrs. 
Brockle's  niece  was  dead,  who  lives  next  door  to  her. 
Grandmother  sent  us  over  with  some  things  for  their 
comfort  and  told  us  to  say  that  we  were  sorry  they 
were  in  trouble.  We  went  and  when  we  came  back 
Anna  told  Grandmother  that  I  said,  "  Never  mind, 
Mrs.  Brockle,  some  day  we  will  all  be  dead."  I  am 
sure  that  I  said  something  better  than  that. 

Wednesday. — Mr.  Cross  had  us  speak  pieces  to- 
day. He  calls  our  names,  and  we  walk  on  to  the 
platform  and  toe  the  mark  and  make  a  bow  and 
say  what  we  have  got  to  say.  He  did  not  know 
what  our  pieces  were  going  to  be  and  some  of  them 
said  the  same  ones.  Two  boys  spoke :  "  The  boy 
stood  on  the  burning  deck,  whence  all  but  him  had 
fled,"  William  Schley  was  one,  and  he  spoke  his 


8  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1852 

the  best.  When  he  said,  "  The  flames  that  lit  the 
battle  wreck  shone  round  him  o'er  the  dead,"  we 
could  almost  see  the  fire,  and  when  he  said,  "  My 
father,  must  I  stay?"  we  felt  like  telling  him,  no, 
he  needn't.  He  is  going  to  make  a  good  speaker. 
Mr.  Cross  said  so.  Albert  Murray  spoke  "  Excel- 
sior," and  Horace  Finley  spoke  nice,  too.  My 
piece  was,  "  Why,  Phoebe,  are  you  come  so  soon  ? 
Where  are  your  berries,  child  ?  "  Emma  Van  Ars- 
dale  spoke  the  same  one.  We  find  them  all  in  our 
reader.  Sometime  I  am  going  to  speak,  "  How  does 
the  water  come  down  at  Ladore?  "  Splashing  and 
flashing  and  dashing  and  clashing  and  all  that — it 
rhymes,  so  it  is  easy  to  remember. 

We  played  snap  the  whip  at  recess  to-day 
and  I  was  on  the  end  and  was  snapped  off  against 
the  fence.  It  hurt  me  so,  that  Anna  cried.  It  is 
not  a  very  good  game  for  girls,  especially  for  the 
one  on  the  end. 

Tuesday. — I  could  not  keep  a  journal  for  two 
weeks,  because  Grandfather  and  Grandmother  have 
been  very  sick  and  we  were  afraid  something  dread- 
ful was  going  to  happen.  We  are  so  glad  that  they 
are  well  again.  Grandmother  was  sick  upstairs  and 
Grandfather  in  the  bedroom  downstairs,  and  we 
carried  messages  back  and  forth  for  them.  Dr. 
Carr  and  Aunt  Mary  came  over  twice  every  day 
and  said  they  had  the  influenza  and  the  inflamma- 
tion of  the  lungs.  It  was  lonesome  for  us  to  sit 


"o 


PQ 


O 


1852]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  9 

down  to  the  table  and  just  have  Hannah  wait  on  us. 
We  did  not  have  any  blessing  because  there  was  no 
one  to  ask  it.  Anna  said  she  could,  but  I  was  afraid 
she  would  not  say  it  right,  so  I  told  her  she  needn't. 
We  had  such  lumps  in  our  throats  we  could  not  eat 
much  and  we  cried  ourselves  to  sleep  two  or  three 
nights.  Aunt  Ann  Field  took  us  home  with  her  one 
afternoon  to  stay  all  night.  We  liked  the  idea  and 
Mary  and  Louisa  and  Anna  and  I  planned  what  we 
would  play  in  the  evening,  but  just  as  it  was  dark  our 
hired  man,  Patrick  McCarty,  drove  over  after  us. 
He  said  Grandfather  and  Grandmother  could  not  get 
to  sleep  till  they  saw  the  children  and  bid  them  good- 
night. So  we  rode  home  with  him.  We  never 
stayed  anywhere  away  from  home  all  night  that  we 
can  remember.  When  Grandmother  came  down- 
stairs the  first  time  she  was  too  weak  to  walk,  so 
she  sat  on  each  step  till  she  got  down.  When 
Grandfather  saw  her,  he  smiled  and  said  to  us: 
"  When  she  will,  she  will,  you  may  depend  on't ; 
and  when  she  won't  she  won't,  and  that's  the 
end  on't."  But  we  knew  all  the  time  that  he  was 
very  glad  to  see  her. 


Sunday,  March  20. — It  snowed  so,  that  we  could 
not  go  to  church  to-day  and  it  was  the  longest  day 
I  ever  spent.  The  only  excitement  was  seeing  the 
snowplow  drawn  by  two  horses,  go  up  on  this 
side  of  the  street  and  down  on  the  other.  Grand- 
father put  on  his  long  cloak  with  a  cape,  which  he 
wears  in  real  cold  weather,  and  went.  We  wanted 
to  pull  some  long  stockings  over  our  shoes  and  go 
too  but  Grandmother  did  not  think  it  was  best. 
She  gave  us  the  "  Dairyman's  Daughter "  and 
"  Jane  the  Young  Cottager,"  by  Leigh  Richmond,  to 
read.  I  don't  see  how  they  happened  to  be  so  aw- 
fully good.  Anna  says  they  died  of  "  early  piety," 
but  she  did  not  say  it  very  loud.  Grandmother  said 
she  would  give  me  10  cents  if  I  would  learn  the 
verses  in  the  New  England  Primer  that  John  Rogers 
left  for  his  wife  and  nine  small  children  and  one 
at  the  breast,  when  he  was  burned  at  the  stake,  at 
Smithfield,  England,  in  1555.  One  verse  is,  "I 
leave  you  here  a  little  book  for  you  to  look  upon  that 
you  may  see  your  father's  face  when  he  is  dead  and 
gone."  It  is  a  very  long  piece  but  I  got  it.  Grand- 
mother says  "  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed 
of  the  church."  Anna  learned 

10 


1853]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  n 

"  In  Adam's  fall  we  sinned  all. 
My  Book  and  heart  shall  never  part. 
The  Cat  doth  play  and  after  slay. 
The  Dog  doth  bite  a  thief  at  night." 

When  she  came  to  the  end  of  it  and  said, 

"  Zaccheus  he,  did  climb  a  tree,  his  Lord  to  see." 

she  said  she  heard  some  one  say,  "  The  tree  broke 
down  and  let  him  fall  and  he  did  not  see  his  Lord 
at  all."  Grandmother  said  it  was  very  wicked  in- 
deed and  she  hoped  Anna  would  try  and  forget  it. 

April  i. — Grandmother  sent  me  up  into  the  little 
chamber  to-day  to  straighten  things  and  get  the 
room  ready  to  be  cleaned.  I  found  a  little  book 
called  "  Child's  Pilgrim  Progress,  Illustrated,"  that 
I  had  never  seen  before.  I  got  as  far  as  Giant 
Despair  when  Anna  came  up  and  said  Grandmother 
sent  her  to  see  what  I  was  doing,  and  she  went 
back  and  told  her  that  I  was  sitting  on  the  floor  in 
the  midst  of  books  and  papers  and  was  so  absorbed 
in  "  Pilgrim's  Progress  "  that  I  had  made  none  my- 
self. It  must  be  a  good  book  for  Grandmother  did 
not  say  a  word.  Father  sent  us  "  Gulliver's  Trav- 
els "  and  there  is  a  gilt  picture  on  the  green  cover, 
of  a  giant  with  legs  astride  and  little  Lilliputians 
standing  underneath,  who  do  not  come  up  to  his 
knees.  Grandmother  did  not  like  the  picture,  so 


12  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1853 

she  pasted  a  piece  of  pink  calico  over  it,  so  we  could 
only  see  the  giant  from  his  waist  up.  I  love  the 
story  of  Cinderella  and  the  poem,  "  'Twas  the  night 
before  Christmas,"  and  I  am  sorry  that  there  are 
no  fairies  and  no  Santa  Claus. 

We  go  to  school  to  Miss  Zilpha  Clark  in  her  own 
house  on  Gibson  Street.  Other  girls  who  go  are 
Laura  Chapin,  Julia  Phelps,  Mary  Paul,  Bessie  Sey- 
mour, Lucilla  and  Mary  Field,  Louisa  Benjamin, 
Nannie  Corson,  Kittie  Marshall,  Abbie  Clark  and 
several  other  girls.  I  like  Abbie  Clark  the  best  of 
all  the  girls  in  school  excepting  of  course  my  sister 
Anna. 

Before  I  go  to  school  every  morning  I  read  three 
chapters  in  the  Bible.  I  read  three  every  day  and 
five  on  Sunday  and  that  takes  me  through  the  Bible 
in  a  year.  Those  I  read  this  morning  were  the  first, 
second  and  third  chapters  of  Job.  The  first  was 
about  Eliphaz  reproveth  Job;  second,  Benefit  of 
God's  correction;  third,  Job  justifieth  his  complaint. 
I  then  learned  a  text  to  say  at  school.  I  went  to 
school  at  quarter  to  nine  and  recited  my  text  and 
we  had  prayers  and  then  proceeded  with  the  busi- 
ness of  the  day.  Just  before  school  was  out,  we  re- 
cited in  "  Science  of  Things  Familiar,"  and  in  Dic- 
tionary, and  then  we  had  calisthenics. 

We  go  through  a  great  many  figures  and  sing  "  A 
Life  on  the  Ocean  Wave,"  "  What  Fairy-like  Music 
Steals  Over  the  Sea,"  "  Lightly  Row,  Lightly  Row, 
O'er  the  Glassy  Waves  We  Go,"  and  "  O  Come, 


1853]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  13 

Come  Away,"  and  other  songs.     Mrs.  Judge  Taylor 
wrote  one  song  on  purpose  for  us. 


May  i. — I  arose  this  morning  about  the  usual 
time  and  read  my  three  chapters  in  the  Bible  and 
had  time  for  a  walk  in  the  garden  before  breakfast. 
The  polyanthuses  are  just  beginning  to  blossom  and 
they  border  all  the  walk  up  and  down  the  garden. 
I  went  to  school  at  quarter  of  nine,  but  did  not  get 
along  very  well  because  we  played  too  much.  We 
had  two  new  scholars  to-day,  Miss  Archibald  and 
Miss  Andrews,  the  former  about  seventeen  and  the 
latter  about  fifteen.  In  the  afternoon  old  Mrs.  Kin- 
ney  made  us  a  visit,  but  she  did  not  stay  very  long. 
In  dictionary  class  I  got  up  sixth,  although  I  had 
not  studied  my  lesson  very  much. 

July. — Hiram  Goodrich,  who  lives  at  Mr.  Myron 
H.  Clark's,  and  George  and  Wirt  Wheeler  ran  away 
on  Sunday  to  seek  their  fortunes.  When  they  did 
not  come  back  every  one  was  frightened  and  started 
out  to  find  them.  They  set  out  right  after  Sunday 
School,  taking  their  pennies  which  had  been  given 
them  for  the  contribution,  and  were  gone  several 
days.  They  were  finally  found  at  Palmyra.  When 
asked  why  they  had  run  away,  one  replied  that  he 
thought  it  was  about  time  they  saw  something  of 
the  world.  We  heard  that  Mr.  Clark  had  a  few 
moments'  private  conversation  with  Hiram  in  the 


14  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1853 

barn  and  Mr.  Wheeler  the  same  with  his  boys  and 
we  do  not  think  they  will  go  traveling  on  their  own 
hook  again  right  off.  Miss  Upham  lives  right 
across  the  street  from  them  and  she  was  telling  little 
Morris  Bates  that  he  must  fight  the  good  fight  of 
faith  and  he  asked  her  if  that  was  the  fight  that 
Wirt  Wheeler  fit.  She  probably  had  to  make  her 
instructions  plainer  after  that. 

July. — Every  Saturday  our  cousins,  Lucilla  and 
Mary  and  Louisa  Field,  take  turns  coming  to  Grand- 
mother's to  dinner.  It  was  Mary's  turn  to-day,  but 
she  was  sick  and  couldn't  come,  so  Grandmother 
told  us  that  we  could  dress  up  and  make  some  calls 
for  her.  We  were  very  glad.  She  told  us  to  go 
to  Mrs.  Gooding's  first,  so  we  did  and  she  was  glad 
to  see  us  and  gave  us  some  cake  she  had  just  made. 
Then  we  went  on  to  Mr.  Greig's.  We  walked  up 
the  high  steps  to  the  front  door  and  rang  the  bell 
and  Mr.  Alexander  came.  We  asked  if  Mrs.  Greig 
and  Miss  Chapin  were  at  home  and  he  said  yes,  and 
asked  us  into  the  parlor.  We  looked  at  the  paint- 
ings on  the  wall  and  looked  at  ourselves  in  the  long 
looking-glass,  while  we  were  waiting.  Mrs.  Irving 
came  in  first.  She  was  very  nice  and  said  I  looked 
like  her  niece,  Julie  Jeffrey.  I  hope  I  do,  for  I 
would  like  to  look  like  her.  Mrs.  Greig  and  Miss 
Chapin  came  in  and  were  very  glad  to  see  us,  and 
took  us  out  into  the  greenhouse  and  showed  us  all 
the  beautiful  plants.  When  we  said  we  would  have 


1853]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AA4ERICA  15 

to  go  they  said  good-bye  and  sent  love  to  Grand- 
mother and  told  us  to  call  again.  I  never  knew 
Anna  to  act  as  polite  as  she  did  to-day.  Then  we 
went  to  see  Mrs.  Judge  Phelps  and  Miss  Eliza 
Chapin,  and  they  were  very  nice  and  gave  us  some 
flowers  from  their  garden.  Then  we  went  on  to 
Miss  Caroline  Jackson's,  to  see  Mrs.  Holmes. 
Sometimes  she  is  my  Sunday  School  teacher,  and 
she  says  she  and  our  mother  used  to  be  great  friends 
at  the  seminary.  She  said  she  was  glad  we  came 
up  and  she  hoped  we  would  be  as  good  as  our  mother 
was.  That  is  what  nearly  every  one  says.  On  our 
way  back,  we  called  on  Mrs.  Dana  at  the  Academy, 
as  she  is  a  friend  of  Grandmother.  She  is  Mrs. 
Noah  T.  Clarke's  mother.  After  that,  we  went 
home  and  told  Grandmother  we  had  a  very  pleasant 
time  calling  on  our  friends  and  they  all  asked  us  to 
come  again. 

Sunday,  August  15. — To-day  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  was  held  in  our  church,  and  Mr. 
Daggett  baptized  several  little  babies.  They  looked 
so  cunning  when  he  took  them  in  his  arms  and  not 
one  of  them  cried.  I  told  Grandmother  when  we 
got  home  that  I  remembered  when  Grandfather 
Richards  baptized  me  in  Auburn,  and  when  he  gave 
me  back  to  mother  he  said,  "  Blessed  little  lambkin, 
you'll  never  know  your  grandpa."  She  said  I  was 
mistaken  about  remembering  it,  for  he  died  before 
I  was  a  year  old,  but  I  had  heard  it  told  so  many 


16  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1853 

times  I  thought  I  remembered  it.     Probably  that 
is  the  way  it  was  but  I  know  it  happened. 

November  22. — I  wrote  a  composition  to-day, 
and  the  subject  was,  "  Which  of  the  Seasons  Is  the 
Pleasantest  ?  "  Anna  asked  Grandmother  what  she 
should  write  about,  and  Grandmother  said  she 
thought  "  A  Contented  Mind  "  would  be  a  very  good 
subject,  but  Anna  said  she  never  had  one  and  didn't 
know  what  it  meant,  so  she  didn't  try  to  write  any 
at  all. 

A  squaw  walked  right  into  our  kitchen  to-day  with 
a  blanket  over  her  head  and  had  beaded  purses  to 
sell. 

This  is  my  composition  which  I  wrote :  "  Which 
of  the  seasons  is  the  pleasantest  ?  Grim  winter  with 
its  cold  snows  and  whistling  winds,  or  pleasant 
spring  with  its  green  grass  and  budding  trees,  or 
warm  summer  with  its  ripening  fruit  and  beautiful 
flowers,  or  delightful  autumn  with  its  golden  fruit 
and  splendid  sunsets?  I  think  that  I  like  all  the 
seasons  very  well.  In  winter  comes  the  blazing  fire 
and  Christmas  treat.  Then  we  can  have  sleigh- 
rides  and  play  in  the  snow  and  generally  get  pretty 
cold  noses  and  toses.  In  spring  we  have  a  great 
deal  of  rain  and  very  often  snow  and  therefore  we 
do  not  enjoy  that  season  as  much  as  we  would  if  it 
was  dry  weather,  but  we  should  remember  that 
April  showers  bring  May  flowers.  In  summer  we 
can  hear  the  birds  warbling  their  sweet  notes  in  the 


1853]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  17 

trees  and  we  have  a  great  many  strawberries,  cur- 
rants, gooseberries  and  cherries,  which  I  like  very 
much,  indeed,  and  I  think  summer  is  a  very  pleasant 
season.  In  autumn  we  have  some  of  our  choicest 
fruits,  such  as  peaches,  pears,  apples,  grapes  and 
plums  and  plenty  of  flowers  in  the  former  part,  but 
in  the  latter,  about  in  November,  the  wind  begins 
to  blow  and  the  leaves  to  fall  and  the  flowers  to 
wither  and  die.  Then  cold  winter  with  its  sleigh- 
rides  comes  round  again."  After  I  had  written 
this  I  went  to  bed.  Anna  tied  her  shoe  strings  in 
hard  knots  so  she  could  sit  up  later. 

November  23. — We  read  our  compositions  to-day 
and  Miss  Clark  said  mine  was  very  good.  One  of 
the  girls  had  a  Prophecy  for  a  composition  and  told 
what  we  were  all  going  to  be  when  we  grew  up. 
She  said  Anna  Richards  was  going  to  be  a  mission- 
ary and  Anna  cried  right  out  loud.  I  tried  to  com- 
fort her  and  told  her  it  might  never  happen,  so  she 
stopped  crying. 

November  24. — Three  ladies  visited  our  school 
to-day,  Miss  Phelps,  Miss  Daniels  and  Mrs.  Clark. 
We  had  calisthenics  and  they  liked  them. 

Sunday. — Mr.  Tousley  preached  to-day.  Mr. 
Lamb  is  Superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School. 
Mr.  Chipman  used  to  be.  Miss  Mollie  Bull  played 
the  melodeon.  Mr.  Fairchild  is  my  teacher  when  he 


1 8  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1853 

is  there.  He  was  not  there  to-day  and  Miss  Mary 
Howell  taught  our  class.  I  wish  I  could  be  as  good 
and  pretty  as  she  is.  We  go  to  church  morning 
and  afternoon  and  to  Sunday  School,  and  learn 
seven  verses  every  week  and  recite  catechism  and 
hymns  to  Grandmother  in  the  evening.  Grand- 
mother knows  all  the  questions  by  heart,  so  she  lets 
the  book  lie  in  her  lap  and  she  asks  them  with  her 
eyes  shut.  She  likes  to  hear  us  sing: 

"  Tis  religion  that  can  give 
Sweetest  pleasure  while  we  live, 
'Tis  religion  can  supply 
Solid  comfort  when  we  die." 

December  i. — Grandfather  asked  me  to  read 
President  Pierce's  message  aloud  to  him  this  even- 
ing. I  thought  it  was  very  long  and  dry,  but  he 
said  it  was  interesting  and  that  I  read  it  very  well. 
I  am  glad  he  liked  it.  Part  of  it  was  about  the 
Missouri  Compromise  and  I  didn't  even  know  what 
it  meant. 

December  8. — We  are  taking  dictation  lessons  at 
school  now.  Miss  Clark  reads  to  us  from  the  "  Life 
of  Queen  Elizabeth "  and  we  write  it  down  in  a 
book  and  keep  it.  She  corrects  it  for  us.  I  always 
spell  "  until  "  with  two  1's  and  she  has  to  mark  it 
every  time.  I  hope  I  will  learn  how  to  spell  it 
after  a  while. 


1853]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  19 

Saturday,  December  9. — We  took  our  music  les- 
sons to-day.  Miss  Hattie  Heard  is  our  teacher  and 
she  says  we  are  getting  along  well.  Anna  prac- 
ticed her  lesson  over  sixty-five  times  this  morning 
before  breakfast  and  can  play  "  Mary  to  the 
Saviour's  Tomb  "  as  fast  as  a  waltz. 

We  chose  sides  and  spelled  down  at  school  to-day. 
Julia  Phelps  and  I  stood  up  the  last  and  both  went 
down  on  the  same  word — eulogism.  I  don't  see 
the  use  of  that  "  e."  Miss  Clark  gave  us  twenty 
words  which  we  had  to  bring  into  some  stories 
which  we  wrote.  It  was  real  fun  to  hear  them. 
Every  one  was  different. 

This  evening  as  we  sat  before  the  fire  place  with 
Grandmother,  she  taught  us  how  to  play  "  Cat's 
Cradle,"  with  a  string  on  our  fingers. 

December  25. — Uncle  Edward  Richards  sent  us 
a  basket  of  lovely  things  from  New  York  for 
Christmas.  Books  and  dresses  for  Anna  and  me, 
a  kaleidoscope,  large  cornucopias  of  candy,  and 
games,  one  of  them  being  battledore  and  shuttlecock. 
Grandmother  says  we  will  have  to  wait  until  spring 
to  play  it,  as  it  takes  so  much  room.  I  wish  all  the 
kittle  girls  in  the  world  had  an  Uncle  Edward. 


January  i,  1854. — About  fifty  little  boys  and 
girls  at  intervals  knocked  at  the  front  door  to-day, 
to  wish  us  Happy  New  Year.  We  had  pennies  and 
cakes  and  apples  ready  for  them.  The  pennies, 
especially,  seemed  to  attract  them  and  we  noticed  the 
same  ones  several  times.  Aunt  Mary  Carr  made 
lovely  New  Year  cakes  with  a  pretty  flower  stamped 
on  before  they  were  baked. 

February  4,  1854. — We  heard  to-day  of  the 
death  of  our  little  half-sister,  Julia  Dey  Richards,  in 
Penn  Yan,  yesterday,  and  I  felt  so  sorry  I  couldn't 
sleep  last  night  so  I  made  up  some  verses  about  her 
and  this  morning  wrote  them  down  and  gave  them  to 
Grandfather.  He  liked  them  so  well  he  wanted  me 
to  show  them  to  Miss  Clark  and  ask  her  to  revise 
them.  I  did  and  she  said  she  would  hand  them  to 
her  sister  Mary  to  correct.  When  she  handed  them 
back  they  were  very  much  nicer  than  they  were  at 
first  and  Grandfather  had  me  copy  them  and  he 
pasted  them  into  one  of  his  Bibles  to  keep. 

Saturday. — Anna  and  I  went  to  call  on  Miss  Up- 
ham  to-day.  She  is  a  real  old  lady  and  lives  with 


1854]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  21 

her  niece,  Mrs.  John  Bates,  on  Gibson  Street.  Our 
mother  used  to  go  to  school  to  her  at  the  Seminary. 
Miss  Upham  said  to  Anna,  "  Your  mother  was  a 
lovely  woman.  You  are  not  at  all  like  her,  dear." 
I  told  Anna  she  meant  in  looks  I  was  sure,  but  Anna 
was  afraid  she  didn't. 

Sunday. — Mr.  Daggett's  text  this  morning  was 
the  22nd  chapter  of  Revelation,  i6th  verse,  "  I  am 
the  root  and  offspring  of  David  and  the  bright  and 
morning  star."  Mrs.  Judge  Taylor  taught  our  Sun- 
day School  class  to-day  and  she  said  we  ought  not 
to  read  our  S.  S.  books  on  Sunday.  I  always  do. 
Mine  to-day  was  entitled,  "  Cheap  Repository  Tracts 
by  Hannah  More,"  and  it  did  not  seem  unreligious 
at  all. 

Tuesday, — A  gentleman  visited  our  school  to-day 
whom  we  had  never  seen.  Miss  Clark  introduced 
him  to  us.  WherNhe  came  in,  Miss  Clark  said, 
''  Young  ladies,"  and  we  all  stood  up  and  bowed 
and  said  his  name  in  concert.  Grandfather  says  he 
would  rather  have  us  go  to  school  to  Miss  Clark 
than  any  one  else  because  she  teaches  us  manners  as 
well  as  books.  We  girls  think  that  he  is  a  very  par- 
ticular friend  of  Miss  Clark.  He  is  very  nice  look- 
ing, but  we  don't  know  where  he  lives.  Laura 
Chapin  says  he  is  an  architect.  I  looked  it  up  in 
the  dictionary  and  it  says  one  who  plans  or  designs. 
I  hope  he  does  not  plan  to  get  married  to  Miss  Clark 


22  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1854 

and  take  her  away  and  break  up  the  school,  but  I 
presume  he  does,  for  that  is  usually  the  way. 

Monday. — There  was  a  minister  preached  in  our 
church  last  night  and  some  people  say  he  is  the 
greatest  minister  in  the  world.  I  think  his  name 
was  Mr.  Finney.  Grandmother  said  I  could  go 
with  our  girl,  Hannah  White.  We  sat  under  the 
gallery,  in  Miss  Antoinette  Pierson's  pew.  There 
was  a  great  crowd  and  he  preached  good.  Grand- 
mother says  that  our  mother  was  a  Christian  when 
she  was  ten  years  old  and  joined  the  church  and  she 
showed  us  some  sermons  that  mother  used  to  write 
down  when  she  was  seventeen  years  old,  after  she 
came  home  from  church,  and  she  has  kept  them  all 
these  years.  I  think  children  in  old  times  were  not 
as  bad  as  they  are  now. 

Tuesday. — Mrs.  Judge  Taylor  sent  for  me  to 
come  over  to  see  her  to-day.  I  didn't  know  what 
she  wanted,  but  when  I  got  there  she  said  she  wanted 
to  talk  and  pray  with  me  on  the  subject  of  religion. 
She  took  me  into  one  of  the  wings.  I  never  had 
been  in  there  before  and  was  frightened  at  first,  but 
it  was  nice  after  I  got  used  to  it.  After  she  prayed, 
she  asked  me  to,  but  I  couldn't  think  of  anything 
but  "  Now  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep,"  and  I  was  afraid 
she  would  not  like  that,  so  I  didn't  say  anything. 
When  I  got  home  and  told  Anna,  she  said,  "  Caro- 
line, I  presume  probably  Mrs.  Taylor  wants  you  to 


1 854]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  23 

be  a  Missionary,  but  I  shan't  let  you  go."  I  told  her 
she  needn't  worry  for  I  would  have  to  stay  at  home 
and  look  after  her.  After  school  to-night  I  went 
out  into  Abbie  Clark's  garden  with  her  and  she 
taught  me  how  to  play  "  mumble  te  peg."  It  is  fun, 
but  rather  dangerous.  I  am  afraid  Grandmother 
won't  give  me  a  knife  to  play  with.  Abbie  Clark 
has  beautiful  pansies  in  her  garden  and  gave  me 
some  roots. 


April  i. — This  is  April  Fool's  Day.  It  is  not  a 
very  pleasant  day,  but  I  am  not  very  pleasant  either. 
I  spent  half  an  hour  this  morning  very  pleasantly 
writing  a  letter  to  my  Father  but  just  as  I  had  fin- 
ished it,  Grandmother  told  me  something  to  write 
which  I  did  not  wish  to  and  I  spoke  quite  disre- 
spectfully, but  I  am  real  sorry  and  I  won't  do  so 
any  more. 

Lucilla  and  Louisa  Field  were  over  to  our  house 
to  dinner  to-day.  We  had  a  very  good  dinner  in- 
deed. In  the  afternoon,  Grandmother  told  me  that 
I  might  go  over  to  Aunt  Ann's  on  condition  that  I 
would  not  stay,  but  I  stayed  ,too  long  and  got  my 
indian  rubbers  real  muddy  and  Grandmother  did 
not  like  it.  I  then  ate  my  supper  and  went  to  bed 
at  ten  minutes  to  eight  o'clock. 

Monday,  April  3. — I  got  up  this  morning  at  quar- 
ter before  six  o'clock.  I  then  read  my  three  chap- 


24  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1854 

ters  in  the  Bible,  and  soon  after  ate  my  breakfast, 
which  consisted  of  ham  and  eggs  and  buckwheat 
cakes.  I  then  took  a  morning  walk  in  the  garden 
and  rolled  my  hoop.  I  went  to  school  at  quarter 
before  9  o'clock.  Miss  Clark  has  us  recite  a  verse 
of  scripture  in  response  to  roll  call  and  my  text  for 
the  morning  was  the  8th  verse  of  the  6th  chapter  of 
Matthew,  "  Be  ye  not  therefore  like  unto  them ;  for 
your  Father  knoweth  what  things  ye  have  need  of 
before  ye  ask  him."  We  then  had  prayers.  I  then 
began  to  write  my  composition  and  we  had  recess 
soon  after.  In  the  afternoon  I  recited  grammar, 
wrote  my  dictation  lesson  and  Dictionary  lesson.  I 
was  up  third  in  my  Dictionary  class  but  missed  two 
words,  and  instead  of  being  third  in  the  class,  I  was 
fifth.  After  supper  I  read  my  Sunday  School  book, 
"  A  Shepherd's  Call  to  the  Lambs  of  his  Flock."  I 
went  to  bed  as  usual  at  ten  minutes  to  8  o'clock. 

April  4. — We  went  into  our  new  schoolroom  to- 
day at  Miss  Clark's  school.  It  is  a  very  nice  room 
and  much  larger  than  the  one  we  occupied  before. 
Anna  and  I  were  sewing  on  our  dolls'  clothes  this 
afternoon  and  we  talked  so  much  that  finally  Grand- 
mother said,  "  the  one  that  speaks  first  is  the  worst ; 
and  the  one  that  speaks  last  is  the  best."  We  kept 
still  for  quite  a  while,  which  gave  Grandmother  a 
rest,  but  was  very  hard  for  us,  especially  Anna. 
Pretty  soon  Grandmother  forgot  and  asked  us  a 
question,  so  we  had  the  joke  on  her.  Afterwards 


1854]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  25 

Anna  told  me  she  would  rather  "  be  the  worst,"  than 
to  keep  still  so  long  again. 

Wednesday. — Grandmother  sent  Anna  and  me  up 
to  Butcher  Street  after  school  to-day  to  invite  Chloe 
to  come  to  dinner.  I  never  saw  so  many  black  peo- 
ple as  there  are  up  there.  We  saw  old  Lloyd  and 
black  Jonathan  and  Dick  Valentine  and  Jerusha  and 
Chloe  and  Nackie.  Nackie  was  pounding  up  stones 
into  sand,  to  sell,  to  scour  with.  Grandmother 
often  buys  it  of  her.  I  think  Chloe  was  surprised, 
but  she  said  she  would  be  ready,  to-morrow,  at 
eleven  o'clock,  when  the  carriage  came  for  her.  I 
should  hate  to  be  as  fat  as  Chloe.  I  think  she 
weighs  300.  She  is  going  to  sit  in  Grandfather's 
big  arm  chair,  Grandmother  says. 

We  told  her  we  should  think  she  would  rather 
invite  white  ladies,  but  she  said  Chloe  was  a  poor 
old  slave  and  as  Grandfather  had  gone  to  Saratoga 
she  thought  it  was  a  good  time  to  have  her.  She 
said  God  made  of  one  blood  all  the  people  on  the 
face  of  the  earth,  so  we  knew  she  would  do  it  and 
we  didn't  say  any  more.  When  we  talk  too  much, 
Grandfather  always  says  N.  C.  (nuff  ced).  She 
sent  a  carriage  for  Chloe  and  she  came  and  had  a 
nice  dinner,  not  in  the  kitchen  either.  Grandmother 
asked  her  if  there  was  any  one  else  she  would  like 
to  see  before  she  went  home  and  she  said,  "  Yes, 
Miss  Rebekah  Gorham,"  so  she  told  the  coachman 
to  take  her  down  there  and  wait  for  her  to  make  a 


26  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1854 

call  and  then  take  her  home  and  he  did.  Chloe  said 
she  had  a  very  nice  time,  so  probably  Grandmother 
was  all  right  as  she  generally  is,  but  I  could  not  be 
as  good  as  she  is,  if  I  should  try  one  hundred 
years. 

June. — Our  cousin,  George  Bates,  of  Honolulu, 
came  to  see  us  to-day.  He  has  one  brother,  Dudley, 
but  he  didn't  come.  George  has  just  graduated 
from  college  and  is  going  to  Japan  to  be  a  doctor. 
He  wrote  such  a  nice  piece  in  my  album  I  must 
copy  it,  "  If  I  were  a  poet  I  would  celebrate  your 
virtues  in  rhyme,  if  I  were  forty  years  old,  I  would 
write  a  homily  on  good  behavior;  being  neither,  I 
will  quote  two  familiar  lines  which  if  taken  as 
a  rule  of  action  will  make  you  a  good  and  happy 
woman : 

"  Honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise, 
Act  well  your  part,  there  all  the  honor  lies." 

I  think  he  is  a  very  smart  young  man  and  will 
make  a  good  doctor  to  the  heathen. 

Saturday. — Grandfather  took  us  down  street  to 
be  measured  for  some  new  patten  leather  shoes  at 
Mr.  Ambler's.  They  are  going  to  be  very  nice  ones 
for  best.  We  got  our  new  summer  hats  from  Mrs. 
Freshour's  millinery  and  we  wore  them  over  to 


1854]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  27 

show  to  Aunt  Ann  and  she  said  they  were  the  very 
handsomest  bonnets  she  had  seen  this  year. 

Tuesday. — When  we  were  on  our  way  to  school 
this  morning  we  met  a  lot  of  people  and  girls  and 
boys  going  to  a  picnic  up  the  lake.  They  asked  us 
to  go,  too,  but  we  said  we  were  afraid  we  could  not. 
Mr.  Alex.  Howell  said,  "  Tell  your  Grandfather  I 
will  bring  you  back  safe  and  sound  unless  the  boat 
goes  to  the  bottom  with  all  of  us."  So  we  went 
home  and  told  Grandfather  and  much  to  our  sur- 
prise he  said  we  could  go.  We  had  never  been  on 
a  boat  or  on  the  lake  before.  We  went  up  to  the 
head  on  the  steamer  "  Joseph  Wood  "  and  got  off  at 
Maxwell's  Point.  They  had  a  picnic  dinner  and 
lots  of  good  things  to  eat.  Then  we  all  went  into 
the  glen  and  climbed  up  through  it.  Mr.  Alex. 
Howell  and  Mrs.  Wheeler  got  to  the  top  first  and 
everybody  gave  three  cheers.  We  had  a  lovely  time 
riding  back  on  the  boat  and  told  Grandmother  we 
had  the  very  best  time  we  ever  had  in  our  whole 
lives. 

May  26. — There  was  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  to-day 
and  we  were  very  much  excited  looking  at  it.  Gen- 
eral Granger  came  over  and  gave  us  some  pieces  of 
smoked  glass.  Miss  Clark  wanted  us  to  write  com- 
positions about  it  so  Anna  wrote,  "  About  eleven 
o'clock  we  went  out  to  see  if  it  had  come  yet,  but 
it  hadn't  come  yet,  so  we  waited  awhile  and  then 


28  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1854 

looked  again  and  it  had  come,  and  there  was  a  piece 
of  it  cut  out  of  it."  Miss  Clark  said  it  was  a  very 
good  description  and  she  knew  Anna  wrote  it  all 
herself. 

I  handed  in  a  composition,  too,  about  the  eclipse, 
but  I  don't  think  Miss  Clark  liked  it  as  well  as  she 
did  Anna's,  because  it  had  something  in  it  about 
"  the  beggarly  elements  of  the  world."  She  asked 
me  where  I  got  it  and  I  told  her  that  it  was  in  a 
nice  story  book  that  Grandmother  gave  me  to  read 
entitled  "  Elizabeth  Thornton  or  the  Flower  and 
Fruit  of  Female  Piety,  and  other  sketches,"  by  Sam- 
uel Irenaeus  Prime.  This  was  one  of  the  other 
sketches:  It  commenced  by  telling  how  the  moon 
came  between  the  sun  and  the  earth,  and  then  went 
on  about  the  beggarly  elements.  Miss  Clark 
asked  me  if  I  knew  what  they  meant  and  I  told  her 
no,  but  I  thought  they  sounded  good.  She  just 
smiled  and  never  scolded  me  at  all.  I  suppose  next 
time  I  must  make  it  all  up  myself. 

There  is  a  Mr.  Packer  in  town,  who  teaches  all 
the  children  to  sing.  He  had  a  concert  in  Bemis 
Hall  last  night  and  he  put  Anna  on  the  top  row  of 
the  pyramid  of  beauty  and  about  one  hundred  chil- 
dren in  rows  below.  She  ought  to  have  worn  a 
white  dress  as  the  others  did  but  Grandmother  said 
her  new  pink  barege  would  do.  I  curled  her  hair 
all  around  in  about  thirty  curls  and  she  looked  very 
nice.  She  waved  the  flag  in  the  shape  of  the  letter 
S  and  sang  "  The  Star  Spangled  Banner,"  and  all 


1854]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  29 

the  others  joined  in  the  chorus.     It  was  perfectly 
grand. 

Monday. — When  we  were  on  our  way  to  school 
this  morning  we  saw  General  Granger  coming,  and 
Anna  had  on  such  a  homely  sunbonnet  she  took  it 
off  and  hid  it  behind  her  till  he  had  gone  by.  When 
we  told  Grandmother  she  said,  "  Pride  goeth  before 
destruction  and  a  haughty  spirit  before  a  fall."  I 
never  heard  of  any  one  who  knew  so  many  Bible 
verses  as  Grandmother.  Anna  thought  she  would 
be  sorry  for  her  and  get  her  a  new  sunbonnet,  but 
she  didn't. 

Sunday. — We  have  Sunday  School  at  nine  o'clock 
in  the  morning  now.  Grandfather  loves  to  watch 
us  when  we  walk  off  together  down  the  street,  so 
he  walks  back  and  forth  on  the  front  walk  till  we 
come  out,  and  gives  us  our  money  for  the  contribu- 
tion. This  morning  we  had  on  our  new  white 
dresses  that  Miss  Rosewarne  made  and  new  summer 
hats  and  new  patten  leather  shoes  and  our  mitts. 
When  he  had  looked  us  all  over  he  said,  with  a 
smile,  "  The  Bible  says,  let  your  garments  be  always 
white."  After  we  had  gone  on  a  little  ways,  Anna 
said :  "  If  Grandmother  had  thought  of  that  verse 
I  wouldn't  have  had  to  wear  my  pink  barege  dress 
to  the  concert."  I  told  her  she  need  not  feel  bad 
about  that  now,  for  she  sang  as  well  as  any  of  them 
and  looked  just  as  good.  She  always  believes  every- 


30  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1854 

thing  I  say,  although  she  does  ~  )t  always  do  what 
I  tell  her  to.  Mr.  Noah  T.  <?rir'1;e  told  us  in  Sun- 
day School  last  Sunday  that  if  we  wanted  to  take 
shares  in  the  missionary  ship,  Morning  Star,  we 
could  buy  them  at  10  cents  apiece,  and  Grandmother 
gave  us  $i  to-day  so  we  could  have  ten  shares.  We 
got  the  certificate  with  a  picture  of  the  ship  on  it, 
and  we  are  going  to  keep  it  always.  Anna  says  if 
we  pay  the  money,  we  don't  have  to  go. 

Sunday. — I  almost  forgot  that  it  was  Sunday 
this  morning  and  talked  and  laughed  just  as  I  do 
week  days.  Grandmother  told  me  to  write  down 
this  verse  before  I  went  to  church  so  I  would  re- 
member it :  "  Keep  thy  foot  when  thou  goest  to 
the  house  of  God,  and  be  more  ready  to  hear  than 
to  offer  the  sacrifice  of  fools."  I  will  remember  it 
now,  sure.  My  feet  are  all  right  any  way  with  my 
new  patten  leather  shoes  on  but  I  shall  have  to  look 
out  for  my  head.  Mr.  Thomas  Howell  read  a  ser- 
mon to-day  as  Mr.  Daggett  is  out  of  town.  Grand- 
mother always  comes  upstairs  to  get  the  candle  and 
tuck  us  in  before  she  goes  to  bed  herself,  and  some 
nights  we  are  sound  asleep  and  do  not  hear  her,  but 
last  night  we  only  pretended  to  be  asleep.  She 
kneeled  down  by  the  bed  and  prayed  aloud  for  us, 
that  we  might  be  good  children  and  that  she  might 
have  strength  given  to  her  from  on  high  to  guide  us 
in  the  straight  and  narrow  path  which  leads  to  life 
eternal.  Those  were  her  very  words.  After  she 


rt 
O 

X 


1854]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  31 

had  gone  downstairs  we  sat  up  in  bed  and  talked 
about  it  and  promised  each  other  to  be  good,  and 
crossed  our  hearts  and  "  hoped  to  die  "  if  we  broke 
our  promise.  Then  Anna  was  afraid  we  would  die, 
but  I  told  her  I  didn't  believe  we  would  be  as 
good  as  that,  so  we  kissed  each  other  and  went  to 
sleep. 


Monday. — "  Old  Alice  "  was  at  our  house  to-day 
and  Grandmother  gave  her  some  flowers.  She  hid 
them  in  her  apron  for  she  said  if  she  should  meet 
any  little  children  and  they  should  ask  for  them  she 
would  have  to  let  them  go.  Mrs.  Gooding  was  at 
our  house  to-day  and  made  a  carpet.  We  went 
over  to  Aunt  Mary  Carr's  this  evening  to  see  the 
gas  and  the  new  chandeliers.  They  are  brontz. 

Tuesday. — My  three  chapters  that  I  read  this 
morning  were  about  Josiah's  zeal  and  reformation ; 
2nd,  Jerusalem  taken  by  Nebuchadnezzar;  3rd,  Je- 
rusalem besieged  and  taken.  The  reason  that  we 
always  read  the  Bible  the  first  thing  in  the  morn- 
ing is  because  it  says  in  the  Bible,  "  Seek  first  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness  and  all  these 
things  shall  be  added  unto  you."  Grandmother 
says  she  hopes  we  will  treasure  up  all  these  things 
in  our  hearts  and  practice  them  in  our  lives.  I  hope 
so,  too.  This  morning  Anna  got  very  mad  at  one 
of  the  girls  and  Grandmother  told  her  she  ought  to 


32  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1854 

return  good  for  evil  and  heap  coals  of  fire  on  her 
head.  Anna  said  she  wished  she  could  and  burn 
her  all  up,  but  I  don't  think  she  meant  it. 

Wednesday. — I  got  up  this  morning  at  twenty 
minutes  after  five.  I  always  brush  my  teeth  every 
morning,  but  I  forget  to  put  it  down  here.  I  read 
my  three  chapters  in  Job  and  played  in  the  garden 
and  had  time  to  read  Grandmother  a  piece  in  the 
paper  about  some  poor  children  in  New  York. 
Anna  and  I  went  over  to  Aunt  Ann's  before  school 
and  she  gave  us  each  two  sticks  of  candy  apiece. 
Part  of  it  came  from  New  York  and  part  from 
Williamstown,  Mass.,  where  Henry  goes  to  college. 
Ann  Eliza  is  going  down  street  with  us  this  after- 
noon to  buy  us  some  new  summer  bonnets.  They 
are  to  be  trimmed  with  blue  and  white  and  are  to 
come  to  five  dollars.  We  are  going  to  Mr.  Stan- 
nard's  store  also,  to  buy  us  some  stockings.  I  ought 
to  buy  me  a  new  thimble  and  scissors  for  I  carried 
my  sewing  to  school  to-day  and  they  were  inside  of 
it  very  carelessly  and  dropped  out  and  got  lost. 
I  ought  to  buy  them  with  my  own  money,  but  I 
haven't  got  any,  for  I  gave  all  I  had  (two  shillings) 
to  Anna  to  buy  Louisa  Field  a  cornelian  ring. 
Perhaps  Father  will  send  me  some  money  soon,  but 
I  hate  to  ask  him  for  fear  he  will  rob  himself.  I 
don't  like  to  tell  Grandfather  how  very  careless  I 
was,  though  I  know  he  would  say,  "  Accidents  will 
happen." 


1854]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  33 

Thursday. — I  was  up  early  this  morning  because 
a  dressmaker,  Miss  Willson,  is  coming  to  make  me  a 
new  calico  dress.  It  is  white  with  pink  spots  in  it 
and  Grandfather  bought  it  in  New  York.  It  is 
very  nice  indeed  and  I  think  Grandfather  was  very 
kind  to  get  it  for  me.  I  had  to  stay  at  home  from 
school  to  be  fitted.  I  helped  sew  and  run  my  dress 
skirt  around  the  bottom  and  whipped  it  on  the  top. 
I  went  to  school  in  the  afternoon,  but  did  not  have 
my  lessons  very  well.  Miss  Clark  excused  me  be- 
cause I  was  not  there  in  the  morning.  Some  girls 
got  up  on  our  fence  to-day  and  walked  clear  across 
it,  the  whole  length.  It  is  iron  and  very  high  and 
has  a  stone  foundation.  Grandmother  asked  them 
to  get  down,  but  I  think  they  thought  it  was  more 
fun  to  walk  up  there  than  it  was  on  the  ground. 
The  name  of  the  little  girl  that  got  up  first  was 
Mary  Lapham.  She  is  Lottie  Lapham's  cousin. 
I  made  the  pocket  for  my  dress  after  I  got  home 
from  school  and  then  Grandfather  said  he  would 
take  us  out  to  ride,  so  he  took  us  way  up  to  Thad- 
deus  Chapin's  on  the  hill.  Julia  Phelps  was  there, 
playing  with  Laura  Chapin,  for  she  is  her  cousin. 
Henry  and  Ann  Eliza  Field  came  over  to  call  this 
evening.  Henry  has  come  home  from  Williams 
College  on  his  vacation  and  he  is  a  very  pleasant 
young  man,  indeed.  I  am  reading  a  continued  story 
in  Harper's  Magazine.  It  is  called  Little  Dorritt,  by 
Charles  Dickens,  and  is  very  interesting. 


34  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1854 

Friday,  May. — Miss  Clark  told  us  we  could  have 
a  picnic  down  to  Sucker  Brook  this  afternoon  and 
she  told  us  to  bring  our  rubbers  and  lunches  by  two 
o'clock;  but  Grandmother  was  not  willing  to  let  us 
go ;  not  that  she  wished  to  deprive  us  of  any  pleasure 
for  she  said  instead  we  could  wear  our  new  black 
silk  basks  and  go  with  her  to  Preparatory  lecture, 
so  we  did,  but  when  we  got  there  we  found  that 
Mr.  Daggett  was  out  of  town  so  there  was  no  meet- 
ing. Then  she  told  us  we  could  keep  dressed  up  and 
go  over  to  Aunt  Mary  Carr's  and  take  her  some 
apples,  and  afterwards  Grandfather  took  us  to  ride 
to  see  old  Mrs.  Sanborn  and  old  Mr.  and  Mrs.  At- 
water.  He  is  ninety  years  old  and  blind  and  deaf, 
so  we  had  quite  a  good  time  after  all. 

Rev.  Mr.  Dickey,  of  Rochester,  agent  for  the 
Seaman's  Friend  Society,  preached  this  morning 
about  the  poor  little  canal  boy.  His  text  was  from, 
the  io7th  Psalm,  23rd  verse,  "  They  that  go  down 
into  the  sea  in  ships."  He  has  the  queerest  voice 
and  stops  off  between  his  words.  When  we  got 
home  Anna  said  she  would  show  us  how  he  preached 
and  she  described  what  he  said  about  a  sailor  in 
time  of  war.  She  said,  "  A  ball  came — and  struck 
him  there — another  ball  came — and  struck  him 
there — he  raised  his  faithful  sword — and  went  on — 
to  victory — or  death."  I  expected  Grandfather 
would  reprove  her,  but  he  just  smiled  a  queer  sort 
of  smile  and  Grandmother  put  her  handkerchief  up 
to  her  face,  as  she  always  does  when  she  is  amused 


1854]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  35 

about  anything.  I  never  heard  her  laugh  out  loud, 
but  I  suppose  she  likes  funny  things  as  well  as  any- 
body. She  did  just  the  same,  this  morning,  when 
Grandfather  asked  Anna  where  the  sun  rose,  and 
she  said  "  over  by  Gen.  Granger's  house  and  sets 
behind  the  Methodist  church."  She  said  she  saw 
it  herself  and  should  never  forget  it  when  any  one 
asked  her  which  was  east  or  west.  I  think  she 
makes  up  more  things  than  any  one  I  know  of. 

Sunday. — Rev.  M.  L.  R.  P.  Thompson  preached 
to-day.  He  used  to  be  the  minister  of  our  church 
before  Mr.  Daggett  came.  Some  people  call  him 
Rev.  "  Alphabet "  Thompson,  because  he  has  so 
many  letters  in  his  name.  He  preached  a  very  good 
sermon  from  the  text,  "  Dearly  beloved,  as  much  as 
lieth  in  you,  live  peaceably  with  all  men."  I  like  to 
hear  him  preach,  but  not  as  well  as  I  do  Mr.  Dag- 
gett. I  suppose  I  am  more  used  to  him. 

Thursday. — Edward  Everett,  of  Boston,  lectured 
in  our  church  this  evening.  They  had  a  platform 
built  even  with  the  tops  of  the  pews,  so  he  did  not 
have  to  go  up  into  the  pulpit.  Crowds  and  crowds 
came  to  hear  him  from  all  over  everywhere. 
Grandmother  let  me  go.  They  say  he  is  the  most 
eloquent  speaker  in  the  U.  S.,  but  I  have  heard 
Mr.  Daggett  when  I  thought  he  was  just  as 
good. 


36  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1854 

Sunday. — We  went  to  church  to-day  and  heard 
Rev.  Mr.  Stowe  preach.  His  text  was,  "  The  poor 
ye  have  with  you  always  and  whensoever  ye  will  ye 
may  do  them  good."  I  never  knew  any  one  who 
liked  to  go  to  church  as  much  as  Grandmother  does. 
She  says  she  "  would  rather  be  a  doorkeeper  in  the 
house  of  our  God,  than  to  dwell  in  the  tents  of  wick- 
edness." They  don't  have  women  doorkeepers,  and 
I  know  she  would  not  dwell  a  minute  in  a  tent.  Mr. 
Coburn  is  the  doorkeeper  in  our  church  and  he  rings 
the  bell  every  day  at  nine  in  the  morning  and  at 
twelve  and  at  nine  in  the  evening,  so  Grandfather 
knows  when  it  is  time  to  cover  up  the  fire  in  the 
fireplace  and  go  to  bed.  I  think  if  the  President 
should  come  to  call  he  would  have  to  go  home  at 
nine  o'clock.  Grandfather's  motto  is: 

"  Early  to  bed  and  early  to  rise 
Makes  a  man  healthy,  wealthy  and  wise." 

Tuesday. — Mrs.  Greig  and  Miss  Chapin  called  to 
see  us  to-day.  Grandmother  says  that  we  can  re- 
turn the  calls  as  she  does  not  visit  any  more.  We 
would  like  to,  for  we  always  enjoy  dressing  up  and 
making  calls.  Anna  and  I  received  two  black  veils 
in  a  letter  to-day  from  Aunt  Caroline  Dey.  Just 
exactly  what  we  had  wanted  for  a  long  while. 
Uncle  Edward  sent  us  five  dollars  and  Grandmother 
said  we  could  buy  just  what  we  wanted,  so  we  went 
down  street  to  look  at  black  silk  mantillas.  We 


1854]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  37 

went  to  Moore's  store  and  to  Richardson's  and 
to  Collier's,  but  they  asked  ten,  fifteen  or  twenty  dol- 
lars for  them,  so  Anna  said  she  resolved  from  now, 
henceforth  and  forever  not  to  spend  her  money  for 
black  silk  mantillas. 

Sunday. — Rev.  Mr.  Tousley  preached  to-day  to 
the  children  and  told  us  how  many  steps  it  took  to 
be  bad.  I  think  he  said  lying  was  first,  then  dis- 
obedience to  parents,  breaking  the  Sabbath,  swear- 
ing, stealing,  drunkenness.  I  don't  remember  just 
the  order  they  came.  It  was  very  interesting,  for 
he  told  lots  of  stories  and  we  sang  a  great  many 
times.  I  should  think  Eddy  Tousley  would  be  an 
awful  good  boy  with  his  father  in  the  house  with 
him  all  the  while,  but  probably  he  has  to  be  away 
part  of  the  time  preaching  to  other  children. 

Sunday. — Uncle  David  Dudley  Field  and  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Brewer,  of  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  are 
visiting  us.  Mrs.  Brewer  has  a  son,  David  Josiah, 
who  is  in  Yale  College.  After  he  graduates  he  is 
going  to  be  a  lawyer  and  study  in  his  Uncle  David 
Dudley  Field's  office  in  New  York.  He  was  born 
in  Smyrna,  Asia  Minor,  where  his  father  and 
mother  were  missionaries  to  the  Greeks,  in  1837. 
Our  Uncle  David  preached  for  Mr.  Daggett  this 
afternoon.  He  is  a  very  old  man  and  left  his  ser- 
mon at  home  and  I  had  to  go  back  after  it.  His 
brother,  Timothy,  was  the  first  minister  in  our 


38  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1854 

church,  about  fifty  years  ago.  Grandmother  says 
she  came  all  the  way  from  Connecticut  with  him 
on  horseback  on  a  pillion  behind  him.  Rather  a 
long  ride,  I  should  say.  I  heard  her  and  Uncle 
David  talking  about  their  childhood  and  how  they 
lived  in  Guilford,  Conn.,  in  a  house  that  was  built 
upon  a  rock.  That  was  some  time  in  the  last  cen- 
tury like  the  house  that  it  tells  about  in  the  Bible 
that  was  built  on  a  rock. 

Sunday,  August  10,  1854. — Rev.  Mr.  Daggett's 
text  this  morning  was,  "  Remember  the  Sabbath 
day  to  keep  it  holy."  Grandmother  said  she 
thought  the  sermon  did  not  do  us  much  good  for 
she  had  to  tell  us  several  times  this  afternoon  to 
stop  laughing.  Grandmother  said  we  ought  to  be 
good  Sundays  if  we  want  to  go  to  heaven,  for  there 
it  is  one  eternal  Sabbath.  Anna  said  she  didn't 
want  to  be  an  angel  just  yet  and  I  don't  think  there 
is  the  least  danger  of  it,  as  far  as  I  can  judge. 
Grandmother  said  there  was  another  verse,  "  If  we 
do  not  have  any  pleasure  on  the  Sabbath,  or  think 
any  thoughts,  we  shall  ride  on  the  high  places  of 
the  earth,"  and  Anna  said  she  liked  that  better,  for 
she  would  rather  ride  than  do  anything  else,  so  we 
both  promised  to  be  good.  Grandfather  told  us 
they  used  to  be  more  strict  about  Sunday  than  they 
are  now.  Then  he  told  us  a  story,  how  he  had  to 
go  to  Geneva  one  Saturday  morning  in  the  stage 
and  expected  to  come  back  in  the  evening,  but  there 


First  Congregational  Church 


1854]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  39 

was  an  accident,  so  the  stage  did  not  come  till  Sun- 
day morning.  Church  had  begun  and  he  told  the 
stage  driver  to  leave  him  right  there,  so  he  went 
in  late  and  the  stage  drove  on.  The  next  day  he 
heard  that  he  was  to  come  before  the  minister,  Rev. 
Mr.  Johns,  and  the  deacons  and  explain  why  he 
had  broken  the  fourth  commandment.  When  he 
got  into  the  meeting  Mr.  Johns  asked  him  what  he 
had  to  say,  and  he  explained  about  the  accident  and 
asked  them  to  read  a  verse  from  the  8th  chapter 
of  John,  before  they  made  up  their  minds  what 
to  do  to  him.  The  verse  was,  "  Let  him  that  is 
without  sin  among  you  cast  the  first  stone."  Grand- 
father said  they  all  smiled,  and  the  minister  said 
the  meeting  was  out.  Grandfather  says  that  shows 
it  is  better  to  know  plenty  of  Bible  verses,  for  some 
time  they  may  do  you  a  great  deal  of  good.  We 
then  recited  the  catechism  and  went  to  bed. 

August  21. — Anna  says  that  Alice  Jewett  feels 
very  proud  because  she  has  a  little  baby  brother. 
They  have  named  him  John  Harvey  Jewett  after 
his  father,  and  Alice  says  when  he  is  bigger  she  will 
let  Anna  help  her  take  him  out  to  ride  in  his  baby- 
carriage.  I  suppose  they  will  throw  away  their 
dolls  now. 

Tuesday,  September  i. — I  am  sewing  a  sheet  over 
and  over  for  Grandmother  and  she  puts  a  pin  in  to 
show  me  my  stint,  before  I  can  go  out  to  play. 


40  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1854 

I  am  always  glad  when  I  get  to  it.  I  am  making 
a  sampler,  too,  and  have  all  the  capital  letters  worked 
and  now  will  make  the  small  ones.  It  is  done  in 
cross  stitch  on  canvas  with  different  color  silks.  I 
am  going  to  work  my  name,  too.  I  am  also  knitting 
a  tippet  on  some  wooden  needles  that  Henry  Carr 
made  for  me.  Grandmother  has  raveled  it  out 
several  times  because  I  dropped  stitches.  It  is 
rather  tedious,  but  she  says,  "If  at  first  you  don't 
succeed,  try,  try  again."  Some  military  soldiers 
went  by  the  house  to-day  and  played  some  beautiful 
music.  Grandfather  has  a  teter  and  swing  for  us 
in  the  back  yard  and  we  enjoy  them  usually,  but 
to-night  Anna  slid  off  the  teter  board  when  she  was 
on  the  ground  and  I  was  in  the  air  and  I  came  down 
sooner  than  I  expected.  There  was  a  hand  organ 
and  monkey  going  by  and  she  was  in  a  hurry  to  get 
to  the  street  to  see  it.  She  got  there  a  good  while 
before  I  did.  The  other  day  we  were  swinging 
and  Grandmother  called  us  in  to  dinner,  but  Anna 
said  we  could  not  go  until  we  "  let  the  old  cat  die." 
Grandmother  said  it  was  more  important  that  we 
should  come  when  we  are  called. 

October. — Grandmother's  name  is  Abigail,  but  she 
was  always  called  "  Nabby  "  at  home.  Some  of 
the  girls  call  me  "  Carrie,"  but  Grandmother  prefers 
"  Caroline."  She  told  us  to-day,  how  when  she 
was  a  little  girl,  down  in  Connecticut  in  1794,  she 
was  on  her  way  to  school  one  morning  and  she  saw 


1854]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  41 

an  Indian  coming  and  was  so  afraid,  but  did  not 
dare  run  for  fear  he  would  chase  her.  So  she 
thought  of  the  word  sago,  which  means  "  good 
morning,"  and  when  she  got  up  close  to  him  she 
dropped  a  curtesy  and  said  "  Sago,"  and  he  just 
went  right  along  and  never  touched  her  at  all.  She 
says  she  hopes  we  will  always  be  polite  to  every 
one,  even  to  strangers. 

November. — Abbie  Clark's  father  has  been  elected 
Governor  and  she  is  going  to  Albany  to  live,  for  a 
while.  We  all  congratulated  her  when  she  came  to 
school  this  morning,  but  I  am  sorry  she  is  going 
away.  We  will  write  to  each  other  every  week. 
She  wrote  a  prophecy  and  told  the  girls  what  they 
were  going  to  be  and  said  I  should  be  mistress  of 
the  White  House.  I  think  it  will  happen,  about  the 
same  time  that  Anna  goes  to  be  a  missionary. 

December. — There  was  a  moonlight  sleighride  of 
boys  and  girls  last  night,  but  Grandfather  did  not 
want  us  to  go,  but  to-night  he  said  he  was  going  to 
take  us  to  one  himself.  So  after  supper  he  told 
Mr.  Piser  to  harness  the  horse  to  the  cutter  and 
bring  it  around  to  the  front  gate.  Mr.  Piser  takes 
care  of  our  horse  and  the  Methodist  Church.  He 
lives  in  the  basement.  Grandfather  sometimes  calls 
him  Shakespeare  to  us,  but  I  don't  know  why.  He 
doesn't  look  as  though  he  wrote  poetry.  Grand- 
father said  he  was  going  to  take  us  out  to  Mr. 


42  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1854 

Waterman  Powers'  in  Farmington  and  he  did. 
They  were  quite  surprised  to  see  us,  but  very  glad 
and  gave  us  apples  and  doughnuts  and  other  good 
things.  We  saw  Anne  and  Imogene  and  Morey 
and  one  little  girl  named  Zimmie.  They  wanted  us 
to  stay  all  night,  but  Grandmother  was  expecting 
us.  We  got  home  safe  about  ten  o'clock  and  had 
a  very  nice  time.  We  never  sat  up  so  late  before. 


Wednesday,  January  9. — I  came  downstairs  this 
morning  at  ten  minutes  after  seven,  almost  frozen. 
I  never  spent  such  a  cold  night  before  in  all  my  life. 
It  is  almost  impossible  to  get  warm  even  in  the 
dining-room.  The  thermometer  is  10°  below  zero. 
The  schoolroom  was  so  cold  that  I  had  to  keep  my 
cloak  on.  I  spoke  a  piece  this  afternoon.  It  was 
'  The  Old  Arm  Chair,"  by  Eliza  Cook.  It  begins, 
"  I  love  it,  I  love  it,  and  who  shall  dare  to  chide 
me  for  loving  that  old  arm  chair  ?  "  I  love  it  be- 
cause it  makes  me  think  of  Grandmother.  After 
school  to-night  Anna  and  I  went  downtown  to  buy 
a  writing  book,  but  we  were  so  cold  we  thought  we 
would  never  get  back.  Anna  said  she  knew  her 
toes  were  frozen.  We  got  as  far  as  Mr.  Taylor's 
gate  and  she  said  she  could  not  get  any  farther;  but 
I  pulled  her  along,  for  I  could  not  bear  to  have  her 
perish  in  sight  of  home.  We  went  to  bed  about 
eight  o'clock  and  slept  very  nicely  indeed,  for 
Grandmother  put  a  good  many  blankets  on  and  we 
were  warm. 

January  23. — This  evening  after  reading  one  of 
Dickens'  stories  I  knit  awhile  on  my  mittens.     I 

43 


44  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1855 

have  not  had  nice  ones  in  a  good  while.  Grand- 
mother cut  out  the  ones  that  I  am  wearing  of  white 
flannel,  bound  round  the  wrist  with  blue  merino. 
They  are  not  beautiful  to  be  sure,  but  warm  and 
will  answer  all  purposes  until  I  get  some  that  are 
better.  When  I  came  home  from  school  to-day 
Mrs.  Taylor  was  here.  She  noticed  how  tall  I  was 
growing  and  said  she  hoped  that  I  was  as  good  as 
I  was  tall.  A  very  good  wish,  I  am  sure. 

Sunday,  January  29. — Mr.  Daggett  preached  this 
morning  from  the  text,  Deut.  8:2:  "  And  thou 
shalt  remember  all  the  way  which  the  Lord  thy  God 
led  thee."  It  is  ten  years  to-day  since  Mr.  Daggett 
came  to  our  church,  and  he  told  how  many  deaths 
there  had  been,  and  how  many  baptisms,  and  how 
many  members  had  been  added  to  the  church.  It 
was  a  very  interesting  sermon,  and  everybody  hoped 
Mr.  Daggett  would  stay  here  ten  years  more,  or 
twenty,  or  thirty,  or  always.  He  is  the  only  minis- 
ter that  I  ever  had,  and  I  don't  ever  want  any  other. 
We  never  could  have  any  one  with  such  a  voice  as 
Mr.  Daggett's,  or  such  beautiful  eyes.  Then  he  has 
such  good  sermons,  and  always  selects  the  hymns 
we  like  best,  and  reads  them  in  such  a  way.  This 
morning  they  sang:  "Thus  far  the  Lord  has  led 
me  on,  thus  far  His  power  prolongs  my  days." 
After  he  has  been  away  on  a  vacation  he  always 
has  for  the  first  hymn,  and  we  always  turn  to  it 
before  he  gives  it  out : 


1855]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  45 

"  Upward  I  lift  mine  eyes, 
From  God  is  all  my  aid ; 
The  God  that  built  the  skies, 
And  earth  and  nature  made. 

"  God  is  the  tower 
To  which  I  fly 
His  grace  is  nigh 
In  every  hour." 

He  always  prays  for  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning 
and  the  garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness. 

January,  1855. — Johnny  Lyon  is  dead.  Georgia 
Wilkinson  cried  awfully  in  school  because  she  said 
she  was  engaged  to  him. 

April. — Grandmother  received  a  letter  from  Con- 
necticut to-day  telling  of  the  death  of  her  only  sister. 
She  was  knitting  before  she  got  it  and  she  laid  it 
down  a  few  moments  and  looked  quite  sad  and  said, 
"  So  sister  Anna  is  dead."  Then  after  a  little  she 
went  on  with  her  work.  Anna  watched  her  and 
when  we  were  alone  she  said  to  me,  "  Caroline,  some 
day  when  you  are  about  ninety  you  may  be  eating 
an  apple  or  reading  or  doing  something  and  you  will 
get  a  letter  telling  of  my  decease  and  after  you  have 
read  it  you  will  go  on  as  usual  and  just  say,  '  So  sis- 
ter Anna  is  dead.' '  I  told  her  that  I  knew  if  I  lived 
to  be  a  hundred  and  heard  that  she  was  dead  I 
should  cry  my  eyes  out,  if  I  had  any. 


46  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1855 

May. — Father  has  sent  us  a  box  of  fruit  from 
New  Orleans.  Prunes,  figs,  dates  and  oranges,  and 
one  or  two  pomegranates.  We  never  saw  any  of 
the  latter  before.  They  are  full  of  cells  with  jelly 
in,  very  nice.  He  also  sent  some  seeds  of  sensitive 
plant,  which  we  have  sown  in  our  garden. 

This  evening  I  wrote  a  letter  to  John  and  a  little 
"  poetry  "  to  Father,  but  it  did  not  amount  to  much. 
I  am  going  to  write  some  a  great  deal  better  some 
day.  Grandfather  had  some  letters  to  write  this 
morning,  and  got  up  before  three  o'clock  to  write 
them  !  He  slept  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour  to- 
night in  his  chair. 

Sunday. — There  was  a  stranger  preached  for  Dr. 
Daggett  this  morning  and  his  text  was,  "  Man  look- 
eth  upon  the  outward  appearance  but  the  Lord  look- 
eth  on  the  heart."  When  we  got  home  Anna  said 
the  minister  looked  as  though  he  had  been  sick  from 
birth  and  his  forehead  stretched  from  his  nose  to 
the  back  of  his  neck,  he  was  so  bald.  Grandmother 
told  her  she  ought  to  have  been  more  interested  in 
his  words  than  in  his  looks,  and  that  she  must  have 
very  good  eyes  if  she  could  see  all  that  from  our 
pew,  which  is  the  furthest  from  the  pulpit  of  any 
in  church,  except  Mr.  Gibson's,  which  is  just  the 
same.  Anna  said  she  couldn't  help  seeing  it  unless 
she  shut  her  eyes,  and  then  every  one  would  think 
she  had  gone  to  sleep.  We  can  see  the  Academy 
boys  from  our  pew,  too. 


1855]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA          .    4? 

Mr.  Lathrop,  of  the  seminary,  is  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday  School  now  and  he  had  a  present  to- 
day from  Miss  Betsey  Chapin,  and  several  visitors 
came  in  to  see  it  presented :  Dr.  Daggett,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Alex.  Howell,  Mr.  Tousley,  Mr.  Stowe,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Gideon  Granger  and  several  others.  The 
present  was  a  certificate  of  life  membership  to  some- 
thing ;  I  did  not  hear  what.  It  was  just  a  large  piece 
of  parchment,  but  they  said  it  cost  $25.  Miss  Lizzie 
Bull  is  my  Sunday  School  teacher  now.  She  asked 
us  last  Sunday  to  look  up  a  place  in  the  Bible  where 
the  trees  held  a  consultation  together,  to  see  which 
one  should  reign  over  them.  I  did  not  remember 
any  such  thing,  but  I  looked  it  up  in  the  concordance 
and  found  it  in  Judges  9:8.  I  found  the  meaning 
of  it  in  Scott's  Commentary  and  wrote  it  down  and 
she  was  very  much  pleased,  and  told  us  next  Sunday 
to  find  out  all  about  Absalom. 

July. — Our  sensitive  plant  is  growing  nicely  and 
it  is  quite  a  curiosity.  It  has  fern-like  leaves  and 
when  we  touch  them,  they  close,  but  soon  come  out 
again.  Anna  and  I  keep  them  performing. 

September  i. — Anna  and  I  go  to  the  seminary 
now.  Mr.  Richards  and  Mr.  Tyler  are  the  princi- 
pals. Anna  fell  down  and  sprained  her  ankle  to- 
day at  the  seminary,  and  had  to  be  carried  into  Mrs. 
Richards'  library.  She  was  sliding  down  the  ban- 
nisters with  little  Annie  Richards.  I  wonder  what 
she  will  do  next.  She  has  good  luck  in  the  gym- 


48  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1855 

nasium  and  can  beat  Emma  Wheeler  and  Jennie 
Ruckle  swinging  on  the  pole  and  climbing  the  rope 
ladder,  although  they  and  Sarah  Antes  are  about  as 
spry  as  squirrels  and  they  are  all  good  at  ten  pins. 
Susie  Daggett  and  Lucilla  Field  have  gone  to  Farm- 
ington,  Conn.,  to  school. 

Monday. — I  received  a  letter  from  my  brother 
John  in  New  Orleans,  and  his  ambrotype.  He  has 
grown  amazingly.  He  also  sent  me  a  N.  O.  paper 
and  it  gave  an  account  of  the  public  exercises  in  the 
school,  and  said  John  spoke  a  piece  called  "  The 
Baron's  Last  Banquet,"  and  had  great  applause  and 
it  said  he  was  "  a  chip  off  the  old  block."  He  is  a 
very  nice  boy,  I  know  that.  James  is  sixteen  years 
old  now  and  is  in  Princeton  College.  He  is  studying 
German  and  says  he  thinks  he  will  go  to  Germany 
some  day  and  finish  his  education,  but  I  guess  in 
that  respect  he  will  be  very  much  disappointed. 
Germany  is  a  great  ways  off  and  none  of  our  rela- 
tions that  I  ever  heard  of  have  ever  been  there  and 
it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  any  of  them  ever  will. 
Grandfather  says,  though,  it  is  better  to  aim  too  high 
than  not  high  enough.  James  is  a  great  boy  to 
study.  They  had  their  pictures  taken  together  once 
and  John  was  holding  some  flowers  and  James  a 
book  and  I  guess  he  has  held  on  to  it  ever  since. 

Sunday. — Polly  Peck  looked  so  funny  on  the 
front  seat  of  the  gallery.  She  had  on  one  of  Mrs. 


i855]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  49 

Greig's  bonnets  and  her  lace  collar  and  cape  and 
mitts.  She  used  to  be  a  milliner  so  she  knows  how 
to  get  herself  up  in  style.  The  ministers  have  ap- 
pointed a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  and  Anna  asked 
Grandmother  if  it  meant  to  eat  as  fast  as  you  can. 
Grandmother  was  very  much  surprised. 

November  25. — I  helped  Grandmother  get  ready 
for  Thanksgiving  Day  by  stoning  some  raisins  and 
pounding  some  cloves  and  cinnamon  in  the  mortar 
pestle  pounder.  It  is  quite  a  job.  I  have  been 
writing  with  a  quill  pen  but  I  don't  like  it  because  it 
squeaks  so.  Grandfather  made  us  some  to-day  and 
also  bought  us  some  wafers  to  seal  our  letters  with, 
and  some  sealing  wax  and  a  stamp  with  "  R  "  on  it. 
He  always  uses  the  seal  on  his  watch  fob  with  "  B." 
He  got  some  sand,  too.  Our  inkstand  is  double  and 
has  one  bottle  for  ink  and  the  other  for  sand  to  dry 
the  writing. 

December  20,  1855. — Susan  B.  Anthony  is  in 
town  and  spoke  in  Bemis  Hall  this  afternoon.  She 
made  a  special  request  that  all  the  seminary  girls 
should  come  to  hear  her  as  well  as  all  the  women  and 
girls  in  town.  She  had  a  large  audience  and  she 
talked  very  plainly  about  our  rights  and  how  we 
ought  to  stand  up  for  them,  and  said  the  world 
would  never  go  right  until  the  women  had  just  as 
much  right  to  vote  and  rule  as  the  men.  She  asked 
us  all  to  come  up  and  sign  our  names  who  would 


50  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1855 

promise  to  do  all  in  our  power  to  bring  about  that 
glad  day  when  equal  rights  should  be  the  law  of 
the  land.  A  whole  lot  of  us  went  up  and  signed  the 
paper.  When  I  told  Grandmother  about  it  she  said 
she  guessed  Susan  B.  Anthony  had  forgotten  that 
St.  Paul  said  the  women  should  keep  silence.  I  told 
her,  no,  she  didn't  for  she  spoke  particularly  about 
St.  Paul  and  said  if  he  had  lived  in  these  times, 
instead  of  1800  years  ago,  he  would  have  been  as 
anxious  to  have  the  women  at  the  head  of  the  gov- 
ernment as  she  was.  I  could  not  make  Grand- 
mother agree  with  her  at  all  and  she  said  we  might 
better  all  of  us  stayed  at  home.  We  went  to  prayer 
meeting  this  evening  and  a  woman  got  up  and 
talked.  Her  name  was  Mrs.  Sands.  We  hurried 
home  and  told  Grandmother  and  she  said  she  prob- 
ably meant  all  right  and  she  hoped  we  did  not  laugh. 

Monday. — I  told  Grandfather  if  he  would  bring 
me  some  sheets  of  foolscap  paper  I  would  begin  to 
write  a  book.  So  he  put  a  pin  on  his  sleeve  to  re- 
mind him  of  it  and  to-night  he  brought  me  a  whole 
lot  of  it.  I  shall  begin  it  to-morrow.  This  evening 
I  helped  Anna  do  her  Arithmetic  examples,  and  read 
her  Sunday  School  book.  The  name  of  it  is 
"  Watch  and  Pray."  My  book  is  the  second  volume 
of  "  Stories  on  the  Shorter  Catechism." 

Tuesday. — I  decided  to  copy  a  lot  of  choice  stories 
and  have  them  printed  and  say  they  were  "  compiled 


1855]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  51 

by  Caroline  Cowles  Richards,"  it  is  so  much  easier 
than  making  them  up.  I  spent  three  hours  to-day 
copying  one  and  am  so  tired  I  think  I  shall  give  it  up. 
When  I  told  Grandmother  she  looked  disappointed 
and  said  my  ambition  was  like  "  the  morning  cloud 
and  the  early  dew,"  for  it  soon  vanished  away.  Anna 
said  it  might  spring  up  again  and  bear  fruit  a  hun- 
dredfold. Grandfather  wants  us  to  amount  to 
something  and  he  buys  us  good  books  whenever  he 
has  a  chance.  He  bought  me  Miss  Caroline  Chese- 
bro's  book,  "  The  Children  of  Light,"  and  Alice  and 
Phoebe  Gary's  Poems.  He  is  always  reading  Chan- 
ning's  memoirs  and  sermons  and  Grandmother 
keeps  "  Lady  Huntington  and  Her  Friends,"  next  to 
"  Jay's  Morning  and  Evening  Exercises  "  and  her 
Testament.  Anna  told  Grandmother  that  she  saw 
Mrs.  George  Willson  looking  very  steadily  at  us  in 
prayer  meeting  the  other  night  and  she  thought 
she  might  be  planning  to  "  write  us  up."  Grand- 
mother said  she  did  not  think  Mrs.  Willson  was  so 
short  of  material  as  that  would  imply,  and  she 
feared  she  had  some  other  reason  for  looking  at  us. 
I  think  dear  Grandmother  has  a  little  grain  of  sar- 
casm in  her  nature,  but  she  only  uses  it  on  extra 
occasions.  Anna  said,  "  Oh,  no ;  she  wrote  the  lives 
of  the  three  Mrs.  Judsons  and  I  thought  she  might 
like  for  a  change  to  write  the  biographies  of  the 
'  two  Miss  Richards.'  '  Anna  has  what  might  be 
called  a  vivid  imagination. 


1856 

January  23. — This  is  the  third  morning  that  I 
have  come  down  stairs  at  exactly  twenty  minutes 
to  seven.  I  went  to  school  all  day.  Mary  Paul  and 
Fannie  Palmer  read  "  The  Snow  Bird "  to-day. 
There  were  some  funny  things  in  it.  One  was: 
"Why  is  a  lady's  hair  like  the  latest  news?  Be- 
cause in  the  morning  we  always  find  it  in  the  pa- 
pers." Another  was :  "  One  rod  makes  an  acher, 
as  the  boy  said  when  the  schoolmaster  flogged  him." 

This  is  Allie  Field's  birthday.  He  got  a  pair  of 
slippers  from  Mary  with  the  soles  all  on;  a  pair  of 
mittens  from  Miss  Eliza  Chapin,  and  Miss  Rebecca 
Gorham  is  going  to  give  him  a  pair  of  stockings 
when  she  gets  them  done. 

January  30. — I  came  home  from  school  at  eleven 
o'clock  this  morning  and  learned  a  piece  to  speak 
this  afternoon,  but  when  I  got  up  to  school  I  forgot 
it,  so  I  thought  of  another  one.  Mr.  Richards  said 
that  he  must  give  me  the  praise  of  being  the  best 
speaker  that  spoke  in  the  afternoon.  Ahem ! 

February  6. — We  were  awakened  very  early  this 
morning  by  the  cry  of  fire  and  the  ringing  of  bells 
and  could  see  the  sky  red  with  flames  and  knew  it 

52 


1856]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  53 

was  the  stores  and  we  thought  they  were  all  burning 
up.  Pretty  soon  we  heard  our  big  brass  door 
knocker  being  pounded  fast  and  Grandfather  said, 
"  Who's  there?  "  "  Melville  Arnold  for  the  bank 
keys,"  we  heard.  Grandfather  handed  them  out 
and  dressed  as  fast  as  he  could  and  went  down, 
while  Anna  and  I  just  lay  there  and  watched  the 
flames  and  shook.  He  was  gone  two  or  three  hours 
and  when  he  came  back  he  said  that  Mr.  Palmer's 
hat  store,  Mr.  Underbill's  book  store,  Mr.  Shafer's 
tailor  shop,  Mrs.  Smith's  millinery,  Pratt  &  Smith's 
drug  store,  Mr.  Mitchell's  dry  goods  store,  two 
printing  offices  and  a  saloon  were  burned.  It  was 
a  very  handsome  block.  The  bank  escaped  fire,  but 
the  wall  of  the  next  building  fell  on  it  and  crushed 
it.  After  school  to-night  Grandmother  let  us  go 
down  to  see  how  the  fire  looked.  It  looked  very 
sad  indeed.  Judge  Taylor  offered  Grandfather  one 
of  the  wings  of  his  house  for  the  bank  for  the  pres- 
ent but  he  has  secured  a  place  in  Mr.  Buhre's  store 
in  the  Franklin  Block. 

Thursday,  February  7. — Dr.  and  Aunt  Mary  Carr 
and  Uncle  Field  and  Aunt  Ann  were  over  at  our 
house  to  dinner  to-day  and  we  had  a  fine  fish  dinner, 
not  one  of  Gabriel's  (the  man  who  blows  such  a 
blast  through  the  street,  they  call  him  Gabriel),  but 
one  that  Mr.  Francis  Granger  sent  to  us.  It  was 
elegant.  Such  a  large  one  it  covered  a  big  platter. 
This  evening  General  Granger  came  in  and  brought 


54  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1856 

a  gentleman  with  him  whose  name  was  Mr.  Skinner. 
They  asked  Grandfather,  as  one  of  the  trustees  of 
the  church,  if  he  had  any  objection  to  a  deaf  and 
dumb  exhibition  there  to-morrow  night.  He  had 
no  objection,  so  they  will  have  it  and  we  will  go. 

Friday. — We  went  and  liked  it  very  much.  The 
man  with  them  could  talk  and  he  interpreted  it. 
There  were  two  deaf  and  dumb  women  and  three 
children.  They  performed  very  prettily,  but  the 
smartest  boy  did  the  most.  He  acted  out  David  kill- 
ing Goliath  and  the  story  of  the  boy  stealing  apples 
and  how  the  old  man  tried  to  get  him  down  by 
throwing  grass  at  him,  but  finding  that  would  not 
do,  he  threw  stones  which  brought  the  boy  down 
pretty  quick.  Then  he  acted  a  boy  going  fishing 
and  a  man  being  shaved  in  a  barber  shop  and  several 
other  things.  I  laughed  out  loud  in  school  to-day 
and  made  some  pictures  on  my  slate  and  showed 
them  to  Clara  Willson  and  made  her  laugh,  and 
then  we  both  had  to  stay  after  school.  Anna  was  at 
Aunt  Ann's  to  supper  to-night  to  meet  a  little  girl 
named  Helen  Bristol,  of  Rochester.  Ritie  Tyler 
was  there,  too,  and  they  had  a  lovely  time. 

February  8. — I  have  not  written  in  my  journal 
for  several  days,  because  I  never  like  to  write  things 
down  if  they  don't  go  right.  Anna  and  I  were 
invited  to  go  on  a  sleigh-ride,  Tuesday  night,  and 
Grandfather  said  he  did  not  want  us  to  go.  We 


Judge   Henry   W.   Taylor  ]\liss  Zilpha  Clark 


Rev.  Oliver  E.  Daggett,  D.D. 


t 


"Frankie  Richardson' 


Horace   Finley 


1856]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  55 

asked  him  if  we  could  spend  the  evening  with 
Frankie  Richardson  and  he  said  yes,  so  we  went 
down  there  and  when  the  load  stopped  for  her,  we 
went  too,  but  we  did  not  enjoy  ourselves  at  all  and 
did  not  join  in  the  singing.  I  had  no  idea  that 
sleigh-rides  could  make  any  one  feel  so  bad.  It  was 
not  very  cold,  but  I  just  shivered  all  the  time. 
When  the  nine  o'clock  bell  rang  we  were  up  by  the 
"  Northern  Retreat,"  and  I  was  so  glad  when  we  got 
near  home  so  we  could  get  out.  Grandfather  and 
Grandmother  asked  us  if  we  had  a  nice  time,  but 
we  got  to  bed  as  quick  as  we  could.  The  next  day 
Grandfather  went  into  Mr.  Richardson's  store  and 
told  him  he  was  glad  he  did  not  let  Frankie  go  on 
the  sleigh-ride,  and  Mr.  Richardson  said  he  did  let 
her  go  and  we  went  too.  We  knew  how  it  was 
when  we  got  home  from  school,  because  they  acted 
so  sober,  and,  after  a  while,  Grandmother  talked 
with  us  about  it.  We  told  her  we  were  sorry  and 
we  did  not  have  a  bit  good  time  and  would  never 
do  it  again.  When  she  prayed  with  us  the  next 
morning,  as  she  always  does  before  we  go  to  school, 
she  said,  "  Prepare  us,  Lord,  for  what  thou  art  pre- 
paring for  us,"  and  it  seemed  as  though  she  was 
discouraged,  but  she  said  she  forgave  us.  I  know 
one  thing,  we  will  never  run  away  to  any  more 
sleigh-rides. 

February  20. — Mr.  Worden,  Mrs.  Henry  Chese- 
bro's  father,  was  buried  to-day,  and  Aunt  Ann  let 


56  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1856 

Allie  stay  with  us  while  she  went  to  the  funeral.  I 
am  going  to  Fannie  Gaylord's  party  to-morrow 
night. 

I  went  to  school  this  afternoon  and  kept  the  rules, 
so  to-night  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  saying  "  per- 
fect "  when  called  upon,  and  if  I  did  not  like  to 
keep  the  rules,  it  is  some  pleasure  to  say  that. 

February  21. — We  had  a  very  nice  time  at  Fannie 
Gaylord's  party  and  a  splendid  supper.  Lucilla 
Field  laughed  herself  almost  to  pieces  when  she 
found  on  going  home  that  she  had  worn  her  leggins 
all  the  evening.  We  had  a  pleasant  walk  home  but 
did  not  stay  till  it  was  out.  Some  one  asked  me  if 
I  danced  every  set  and  I  told  them  no,  I  set  every 
dance.  I  told  Grandmother  and  she  was  very 
much  pleased.  Some  one  told  us  that  Grandfather 
and  Grandmother  first  met  at  a  ball  in  the  early 
settlement  of  Canandaigua.  I  asked  her  if  it  was 
so  and  she  said  she  never  had  danced  since  she  be- 
came a  professing  Christian  and  that  was  more  than 
fifty  years  ago. 

Grandfather  heard  to-day  of  the  death  of  his  sis- 
ter, Lydia,  who  was  Mrs.  Lyman  Beecher.  She 
was  Rev.  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher 's  third  wife.  Grand- 
mother says  that  they  visited  her  once  and  she  was 
quite  nervous  thinking  about  having  such  a  great 
man  as  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  for  her  guest,  as  he  was 
considered  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  his  day,  but 
she  said  she  soon  got  over  this  feeling,  for  he  was 


1856]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  57 

so  genial  and  pleasant  and  she  noticed  particularly 
how  he  ran  up  and  down  stairs  like  a  boy.  I  think 
that  is  very  apt  to  be  the  way  for  "  men  are  only 
boys  grown  tall." 

There  was  a  Know  Nothing  convention  in  town 
to-day.  They  don't  want  any  one  but  Americans  to 
hold  office,  but  I  guess  they  will  find  that  foreigners 
will  get  in.  Our  hired  man  is  an  Irishman  and  I 
think  he  would  just  as  soon  be  "  Prisidint "  as  not. 

February  22. — This  is  such  a  beautiful  day,  the 
girls  wanted  a  holiday,  but  Mr.  Richards  would  not 
grant  it.  We  told  him  it  was  Washington's  birth- 
day and  we  felt  very  patriotic,  but  he  was  inexo- 
rable. We  had  a  musical  review  and  literary  exer- 
cises instead  in  the  afternoon  and  I  put  on  my  blue 
merino  dress  and  my  other  shoes.  Anna  dressed 
up,  too,  and  I  curled  her  hair.  The  Primary  schol- 
ars sit  upstairs  this  term  and  do  not  have  to  pay 
any  more.  Anna  and  Emma  Wheeler  like  it  very 
much,  but  they  do  not  sit  together.  We  are  seated 
alphabetically,  and  I  sit  with  Mary  Reznor  and  Anna 
with  Mittie  Smith.  They  thought  she  would  behave 
better,  I  suppose,  if  they  put  her  with  one  of  the 
older  girls,  but  I  do  not  know  as  it  will  have  the 
"  desired  effect,"  as  Grandmother  says.  Miss  Mary 
Howell  and  Miss  Carrie  Hart  and  Miss  Lizzie  and 
Miss  Mollie  Bull  were  visitors  this  afternoon.  Ger- 
trude Monier  played  and  sang.  Mrs.  Anderson  is 
the  singing  teacher.  Marion  Maddox  and  Pussie 


58  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1856 

Harris  and  Mary  Daniels  played  on  the  piano.  Mr. 
Hardick  is  the  teacher,  and  he  played  too.  You 
would  think  he  was  trying  to  pound  the  piano  all 
to  pieces  but  he  is  a  good  player.  We  have  two 
papers  kept  up  at  school,  The  Snow  Bird  and  The 
Waif — one  for  the  younger  and  the  other  for  the 
older  girls.  Miss  Jones,  the  composition  teacher, 
corrects  them  both.  Kate  Buell  and  Anna  Maria 
Chapin  read  The  Waif  to-day  and  Gusta  Buell  and 
I  read  The  Snow  Bird.  She  has  beautiful  curls  and 
has  two  nice  brothers  also,  Albert  and  Arthur,  and 
the  girls  all  like  them.  They  have  not  lived  in  town 
very  long. 

February  25. — I  guess  I  won't  fill  up  my  journal 
any  more  by  saying  I  arose  this  morning  at  the  usual 
time,  for  I  don't  think  it  is  a  matter  of  life  or  death 
whether  I  get  up  at  the  usual  time  or  a  few  minutes 
later  and  when  I  am  older  and  read  over  the  account 
of  the  manner  in  which  I  occupied  my  time  in  my 
younger  days  I  don't  think  it  will  add  particularly 
to  the  interest  to  know  whether  I  used  to  get  up 
at  7  or  at  a  quarter  before.  I  think  Miss  Sprague, 
our  schoolroom  teacher,  would  have  been  glad  if 
none  of  us  had  got  up  at  all  this  morning  for  we 
acted  so  in  school.  She  does  not  want  any  noise 
during  the  three  minute  recess,  but  there  has  been  a 
good  deal  all  day.  In  singing  class  they  disturbed 
Mr.  Kimball  by  blowing  through  combs.  We  took 
off  our  round  combs  and  put  paper  over  them  and 


1856]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  59 

then  blew — Mary  Wheeler  and  Lottie  Lapham  and 
Anna  sat  nearest  me  and  we  all  tried  to  do  it,  but 
Lottie  was  the  only  one  who  could  make  it  go.  He 
thought  we  all  did,  so  he  made  us  come  up  and  sit 
by  him.  I  did  not  want  to  a  bit.  He  told  Miss 
Sprague  of  us  and  she  told  the  whole  school  if  there 
was  as  much  noise  another  day  she  would  keep 
every  one  of  us  an  hour  after  half-past  4.  As  soon 
as  she  said  this  they  all  began  to  groan.  She  said 
"  Silence."  I  only  made  the  least  speck  of  a  noise 
that  no  one  heard. 

February  26. — To-night,  after  singing  class,  Mr. 
Richards  asked  all  who  blew  through  combs  to  rise. 
I  did  not,  because  I  could  not  make  it  go,  but  when 
he  said  all  who  groaned  could  rise,  I  did,  and  some 
others,  but  not  half  who  did  it.  He  kept  us  very 
late  and  we  all  had  to  sign  an  apology  to  Miss 
Sprague. 

Grandfather  made  me  a  present  of  a  beautiful 
blue  stone  to-day  called  Malachite.  Anna  said  she 
always  thought  Malachite  was  one  of  the  prophets. 

March  3,  1856. — Elizabeth  Spencer  sits  with  me 
in  school  now.  She  is  full  of  fun  but  always  man- 
ages to  look  very  sober  when  Miss  Chesebro  looks 
up  to  see  who  is  making  the  noise  over  our  way. 
I  never  seem  to  have  that  knack.  Anna  had  to  stay 
after  school  last  night  and  she  wrote  in  her  journal 
that  the  reason  was  because  "  nature  will  out "  and 


60  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1856 

because  "  she  whispered  and  didn't  have  her  lessons, 
etc.,  etc.,  etc."  Mr.  Richards  has  allowed  us  to 
bring  our  sewing  to  school  but  now  he  says  we  can- 
not any  more.  I  am  sorry  for  I  have  some  em- 
broidery and  I  could  get  one  pantalette  done  in  a 
week,  but  now  it  will  take  me  longer.  Grandmother 
has  offered  me  one  dollar  if  I  will  stitch  a  linen 
shirt  bosom  and  wrist  bands  for  Grandfather  and 
make  the  sleeves.  I  have  commenced  but,  Oh  my! 
it  is  an  undertaking.  I  have  to  pull  the  threads  out 
and  then  take  up  two  threads  and  leave  three.  It  is 
very  particular  work  and  Anna  says  the  stitches 
must  not  be  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  I  have  to  fell 
the  sleeves  with  the  tiniest  seams  and  stroke  all  the 
gathers  and  put  a  stitch  on  each  gather.  Minnie 
Bellows  is  the  best  one  in  school  with  her  needle  and 
is  a  dabster  at  patching.  She  cut  a  piece  right  out 
of  her  new  calico  dress  and  matched  a  new  piece  in 
and  none  of  us  could  tell  where  it  was.  I  am  sure 
it  would  not  be  safe  for  me  to  try  that.  Grand- 
mother let  me  ask  three  of  the  girls  to  dinner  Sat- 
urday, Abbie  Clark,  Mary  Wheeler  and  Mary  Field. 
We  had  a  big  roast  turkey  and  everything  else  to 
match.  Good  enough  for  Queen  Victoria.  That 
reminds  me  of  a  conundrum  we  had  in  The  Snow 
Bird:  What  does  Queen  Victoria  take  her  pills  in? 
In  cider.  (Inside  her.) 

March  7. — The  reports  were  read  at  school  to-day 
and  mine  was,  Attendance  10,  Deportment  8,  Schol- 


1856]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  61 

arship  7l/2,  and  Anna's  10,  10  and  7.  I  think  they 
got  it  turned  around,  for  Anna  has  not  behaved  any- 
thing uncommon  lately. 

March  10. — My  teacher  Miss  Sprague  kept  me 
after  school  to-night  for  whispering,  and  after  all 
the  others  were  gone  she  came  to  my  seat  and  put 
her  arm  around  me  and  kissed  me  and  said  she  loved 
me  very  much  and  hoped  I  would  not  whisper  in 
school  any  more.  This  made  me  feel  very  sorry 
and  I  told  her  I  would  try  my  best,  but  it  seemed 
as  though  it  whispered  itself  sometimes.  I  think 
she  is  just  as  nice  as  she  can  be  and  I  shall  tell  the 
other  girls  so.  Her  home  is  in  Glens  Falls. 

Anna  jumped  the  rope  two  hundred  times  to-day 
without  stopping,  and  I  told  her  that  I  read  of  a  girl 
who  did  that  and  then  fell  right  down  stone  dead. 
I  don't  believe  Anna  will  do  it  again.  If  she  does 
I  shall  tell  Grandmother. 

April  5. — I  walked  down  town  with  Grandfather 
this  morning  and  it  is  such  a  beautiful  day  I  felt 
glad  that  I  was  alive.  The  air  was  full  of  tiny  little 
flies,  buzzing  around  and  going  in  circles  and  semi- 
circles as  though  they  were  practising  calisthenics  or 
dancing  a  quadrille.  I  think  they  were  glad  they 
were  alive,  too.  I  stepped  on  a  big  bug  crawling  on 
the  walk  and  Grandfather  said  I  ought  to  have 
brushed  it  aside  instead  of  killing  it.  I  asked  him 
why  and  he  said,  "  Shakespeare  says,  '  The  beetle 


62  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1856 

that  we  tread  upon  feels  a  pang  as  great  as  when  a 
giant  dies.' ' 

A  man  came  to  our  door  the  other  day  and  asked 
if  "  Deacon  "  Beals  was  at  home.  I  asked  Grand- 
mother afterwards  if  Grandfather  was  a  Deacon 
and  she  said  no  and  never  had  been,  that  people  gave 
him  the  name  when  he  was  a  young  man  because 
he  was  so  staid  and  sober  in  his  appearance.  Some 
one  told  me  once  that  I  would  not  know  my  Grand- 
father if  I  should  meet  him  outside  the  Corporation. 
I  asked  why  and  he  said  because  he  was  so  genial 
and  told  such  good  stories.  I  told  him  that  was  just 
the  way  he  always  is  at  home.  I  do  not  know  any 
one  who  appreciates  real  wit  more  than  he  does. 
He  is  quite  strong  in  his  likes  and  dislikes,  however. 
I  have  heard  him  say, 

"  I  do  not  like  you,  Dr.  Fell, 
The  reason  why,  I  cannot  tell ; 
But  this  one  thing  I  know  full  well, 
I  do  not  like  you,  Dr.  Fell." 

Bessie  Seymour  wore  a  beautiful  gold  chain  to 
school  this  morning  and  I  told  Grandmother  that  I 
wanted  one  just  like  it.  She  said  that  outward 
adornments  were  not  of  as  much  value  as  inward 
graces  and  the  ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit, 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  was  of  great  price.  I  know 
it  is  very  becoming  to  Grandmother  and  she  wears 
it  all  the  time  but  I  wish  I  had  a  gold  chain  just 
the  same. 


1856]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  63 

Aunt  Ann  received  a  letter  to-day  from  Lucilla, 
who  is  at  Miss  Porter's  school  at  Farmington,  Con- 
necticut. She  feels  as  if  she  were  a  Christian  and 
that  she  has  experienced  religion. 

Grandfather  noticed  how  bright  and  smart  Bent- 
ley  Murray  was,  on  the  street,  and  what  a  business 
way  he  had,  so  he  applied  for  a  place  for  him  as  page 
in  the  Legislature  at  Albany  and  got  it.  He  is 
always  noticing  young  people  and  says,  "  As  the 
twig  is  bent,  the  tree  is  inclined."  He  says  we  may 
be  teachers  yet  if  we  are  studious  now.  Anna  says, 
"  Excuse  me,  please." 

Grandmother  knows  the  Bible  from  Genesis  to 
Revelation  excepting  the  "  begats  "  and  the  hard 
names,  but  Anna  told  her  a  new  verse  this  morning, 
"  At  Parbar  westward,  four  at  the  causeway  and 
two  at  Parbar."  Grandmother  put  her  spectacles 
up  on  her  forehead  and  just  looked  at  Anna  as 
though  she  had  been  talking  in  Chinese.  She  finally 
said,  "  Anna,  I  do  not  think  that  is  in  the  Bible." 
She  said,  "  Yes,  it  is;  I  found  it  in  i  Chron.  26:  18." 
Grandmother  found  it  and  then  she  said  Anna  had 
better  spend  her  time  looking  up  more  helpful  texts. 
Anna  then  asked  her  if  she  knew  who  was  the  short- 
est man  mentioned  in  the  Bible  and  Grandmother 
said  "  Zaccheus."  Anna  said  that  she  just  read  in 
the  newspaper,  that  one  said  "  Nehimiah  was  "  and 
another  said  "  Bildad  the  Shuhite  "  and  another  said 
'  Tohi."  Grandmother  said  it  was  very  wicked  to 
pervert  the  Scripture  so,  and  she  did  not  approve  of 


64  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1856 

it  at  all.     I  don't  think  Anna  will  give  Grandmother 
any  more  Bible  conundrums. 

April  12. — We  went  down  town  this  morning  and 
bought  us  some  shaker  bonnets  to  wear  to  school. 
They  cost  $i  apiece  and  we  got  some  green  silk  for 
capes  to  put  on  them.  We  fixed  them  ourselves 
and  wore  them  to  school  and  some  of  the  girls  liked 
them  and  some  did  not,  but  it  makes  no  difference 
to  me  what  they  like,  for  I  shall  wear  mine  till  it 
is  worn  out.  Grandmother  says  that  if  we  try  to 
please  everybody  we  please  nobody.  The  girls  are 
all  having  mystic  books  at  school  now  and  they  are 
very  interesting  to  have.  They  are  blank  books  and 
we  ask  the  girls  and  boys  to  write  in  them  and  then 
they  fold  the  page  twice  over  and  seal  it  with  wafers 
or  wax  and  then  write  on  it  what  day  it  is  to  be 
opened.  Some  of  them  say,  "  Not  to  be  opened  for 
a  year,"  and  that  is  a  long  time  to  wait.  If  we  can- 
not wait  we  can  open  them  and  seal  them  up  again. 
I  think  Anna  did  look  to  see  what  Eugene  Stone 
wrote  in  hers,  for  it  does  not  look  as  smooth  as  it 
did  at  first.  We  have  autograph  albums  too  and 
Horace  Finley  gave  us  lots  of  small  photographs. 
We  paste  them  in  the  books  and  then  ask  the  people 
to  write  their  names.  We  have  got  Miss  Upham's 
picture  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Daggett,  General 
Granger's  and  Hon.  Francis  Granger's  and  Mrs. 
Adele  Granger  Thayer  and  Friend  Burling,  Dr. 
Jewett,  Dr.  Cheney,  Deacon  Andrews  and  Dr.  Carr, 


1856]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  65 

and  Johnnie  Thompson's,  Mr.  Noah  T.  Clarke,  Mr. 
E.  M.  Morse,  Mrs.  George  Willson,  Theodore  Bar- 
num,  Jim  Paton's  and  Will  Schley,  Merritt  Wilcox, 
Tom  Raines,  Ed.  Williams,  Gus  Coleman's,  W.  P. 
Fisk  and  lots  of  the  girls'  pictures  besides.  Eugene 
Stone  and  Tom  Eddy  had  their  ambrotypes  taken 
together,  in  a  handsome  case,  and  gave  it  to  Anna. 
We  are  going  to  keep  them  always. 

April. — The  Siamese  twins  are  in  town  and  a  lot 
of  the  girls  went  to  see  them  in  Bemis  Hall  this 
afternoon.  It  costs  10  cents.  Grandmother  let  us 
go.  Their  names  are  Eng  and  Chang  and  they  are 
not  very  handsome.  They  are  two  men  joined  to- 
gether. I  hope  they  like  each  other  but  I  don't  envy 
them  any  way.  If  one  wanted  to  go  somewhere  and 
the  other  one  didn't  I  don't  see  how  they  would  man- 
age it.  One  would  have  to  give  up,  that's  certain. 
Perhaps  they  are  both  Christians. 

April  30. — Rev.  Henry  M.  Field,  editor  of  the 
New  York  Evangelist,  and  his  little  French  wife  are 
here  visiting.  She  is  a  wonderful  woman.  She  has 
written  a  book  and  paints  beautiful  pictures  and  was 
teacher  of  art  in  Cooper  Institute,  New  York.  He 
is  Grandmother's  nephew  and  he  brought  her  a  pic- 
ture of  himself  and  his  five  brothers,  taken  for 
Grandmother,  because  she  is  the  only  aunt  they  have 
in  the  world.  The  rest  are  all  dead.  The  men  in 
the  picture  are  Jonathan  and  Matthew  and  David 


66  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1856 

Dudley  and  Stephen  J.  and  Cyrus  W.  and  Henry  M. 
They  are  all  very  nice  looking  and  Grandmother 
thinks  a  great  deal  of  the  picture. 

May  15. — Miss  Anna  Gaylord  is  one  of  my  teach- 
ers at  the  seminary  and  when  I  told  her  that  I  wrote 
a  journal  every  day  she  wanted  me  to  bring  her  my 
last  book  and  let  her  read  it.  I  did  so  and  she  said 
she  enjoyed  it  very  much  and  she  hoped  I  would 
keep  them  for  they  would  be  interesting  for  me  to 
read  when  I  am  old.  I  think  I  shall  do  so.  She  has 
a  very  particular  friend,  Rev.  Mr.  Beaumont,  who  is 
one  of  the  teachers  at  the  Academy.  I  think  they 
are  going  to  be  married  some  day.  I  guess  I  will 
show  her  this  page  of  my  journal,  too.  Grand- 
mother let  me  make  a  pie  in  a  saucer  to-day  and  it 
was  very  good. 

May. — We  were  invited  to  Bessie  Seymour's 
party  last  night  and  Grandmother  said  we  could  go. 
The  girls  all  told  us  at  school  that  they  were  going 
to  wear  low  neck  and  short  sleeves.  We  have  caps 
on  the  sleeves  of  our  best  dresses  and  we  tried  to  get 
the  sleeves  out,  so  we  could  go  bare  arms,  but  we 
couldn't  get  them  out.  We  had  a  very  nice  time, 
though,  at  the  party.  Some  of  the  Academy  boys 
were  there  and  they  asked  us  to  dance  but  of  course 
we  couldn't  do  that.  We  promenaded  around  the 
rooms  and  went  out  to  supper  with  them.  Eugene 
Stone  and  Tom  Eddy  asked  to  go  home  with  us  but 


o 
H 


1856]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  67 

Grandmother  sent  our  two  girls  for  us,  Bridget 
Flynn  and  Hannah  White,  so  they  couldn't.  We 
were  quite  disappointed,  but  perhaps  she  won't  send 
for  us  next  time. 

May. — Grandmother  is  teaching  me  how  to  knit 
some  mittens  now,  but  if  I  ever  finish  them  it  will 
be  through  much  tribulation,  the  way  they  have  to 
be  raveled  out  and  commenced  over  again.  I  think 
I  shall  know  how  to  knit  when  I  get  through,  if  I 
never  know  how  to  do  anything  else.  Perhaps  I 
shall  know  how  to  write,  too,  for  I  write  all  of 
Grandmother's  letters  for  her,  because  it  tires  her  to 
write  too  much.  I  have  sorted  my  letters  to-day 
and  tied  them  in  packages  and  found  I  had  between 
500  and  600.  I  have  had  about  two  letters  a  week 
for  the  past  five  years  and  have  kept  them  all. 
Father  almost  always  tells  me  in  his  letters  to  read 
my  Bible  and  say  my  prayers  and  obey  Grandmother 
and  stand  up  straight  and  turn  out  my  toes  and 
brush  my  teeth  and  be  good  to  my  little  sister.  I 
have  been  practising  all  these  so  long  I  can  say,  as 
the  young  man  did  in  the  Bible  when  Jesus  told  him 
what  to  do  to  be  saved,  "  all  these  have  I  kept  from 
my  youth  up."  But  then,  I  lack  quite  a  number  of 
things  after  all.  I  am  not  always  strictly  obedient. 
For  instance,  I  know  Grandmother  never  likes  to 
have  us  read  the  secular  part  of  the  New  York  Ob- 
server on  Sunday,  so  she  puts  it  in  the  top  drawer 
of  the  sideboard  until  Monday,  but  I  couldn't  find 


68  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1856 

anything  interesting  to  read  the  other  Sunday  so  I 
took  it  out  and  read  it  and  put  it  back.  The  jokes 
and  stories  in  it  did  not  seem  as  amusing  as  usual 
so  I  think  I  will  not  do  it  again. 

Grandfather's  favorite  paper  is  the  Boston  Chris- 
tian Register.  He  could  not  have  one  of  them  torn 
up  any  more  than  a  leaf  of  the  Bible.  He  has  bar- 
rels of  them  stored  away  in  the  garret. 

I  asked  Grandmother  to-day  to  write  a  verse  for 
me  to  keep  always  and  she  wrote  a  good  one :  "  To 
be  happy  and  live  long  the  three  grand  essentials  are : 
Be  busy,  love  somebody  and  have  high  aims."  I 
think,  from  all  I  have  noticed  about  her,  that  she 
has  had  this  for  her  motto  all  her  life  and  I  don't 
think  Anna  and  I  can  do  very  much  better  than  to 
try  and  follow  it  too.  Grandfather  tells  us  some- 
times, when  she  is  not  in  the  room,  that  the  best 
thing  we  can  do  is  to  be  just  as  near  like  Grand- 
mother as  we  can  possibly  be. 

Saturday,  May  30. — Louisa  Field  came  over  to 
dinner  to-day  and  brought  Allie  with  her.  We  had 
roast  chickens  for  dinner  and  lots  of  other  nice 
things.  Grandmother  taught  us  how  to  string  lilac 
blossoms  for  necklaces  and  also  how  to  make  curls 
of  dandelion  stems.  She  always  has  some  things  in 
the  parlor  cupboard  which  she  brings  out  on  extra 
occasions,  so  she  got  them  out  to-day.  They  are 
some  Chinamen  which  Uncle  Thomas  brought  home 
when  he  sailed  around  the  world.  They  are 


1856]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  69 

wooden  images  standing  in  boxes,  packing  tea  with 
their  feet. 

Last  week  Jennie  Howell  invited  us  to  go  up  to 
Black  Point  Cabin  with  her  and  to-day  with  a  lot  of 
grown-up  people  we  went  and  enjoyed  it.  There 
was  a  little  colored  girl  there  who  waits  on  the  table 
and  can  row  the  boats  too.  She  is  Polly  Carroll's 
grand-daughter,  Mary  Jane.  She  sang  for  us, 

"  Nellie  Ely  shuts  her  eye  when  she  goes  to  sleep, 
When  she  opens  them  again  her  eyes  begin  to  peep ; 
Hi  Nellie,  Ho  Nellie,  listen  love  to  me, 
I'll  sing  for  you,  I'll  play  for  you, 
A  dulcet  melody." 

She  is  just  as  cute  as  she  can  be.  She  said  Mrs. 
Henry  Chesebro  taught  her  to  read. 

Sunday,  June  i. — Rev.  Dr.  Shaw,  of  Rochester, 
preached  for  Dr.  Daggett  to-day  and  his  text  was : 
"  Whosoever  drinketh  of  this  water  shall  thirst 
again,  but  whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water  that  I 
shall  give  him  shall  never  thirst."  He  said  by  this 
water  he  meant  the  pleasures  of  this  life,  wealth  and 
fame  and  honor,  of  which  the  more  we  have  the 
more  we  want  and  are  never  satisfied,  but  if  we 
drink  of  the  water  that  Christ  can  give  us  we  will 
have  happiness  here  and  forever.  It  was  a  very 
good  sermon  and  I  love  to  hear  him  preach. 
Grandmother  never  likes  to  start  for  church  until 
after  all  the  Seminary  girls  and  Academy  boys  have 


70  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1856 

gone  by,  but  this  morning  we  got  to  the  gate  just 
as  the  boys  came  along.  When  Grandmother  saw 
five  or  six  hats  come  off  and  knew  they  were  bowing 
to  us,  she  asked  us  how  we  got  acquainted  with 
them.  We  told  her  that  almost  all  the  girls  knew 
the  Academy  boys  and  I  am  sure  that  is  true. 

Tuesday,  June  8. — We  are  cleaning  house  now 
and  Grandmother  asked  Anna  and  me  to  take  out  a 
few  tacks  in  the  dining-room  carpet.  We  did  not 
like  it  so  very  well  but  we  liked  eating  dinner  in 
the  parlor,  as  the  table  had  to  be  set  in  there.  Anna 
told  us  that  when  she  got  married  we  could  come  to 
visit  her  any  time  in  the  year  as  she  was  never  going 
to  clean  house.  We  went  down  street  on  an  errand 
to-night  and  hurried  right  back,  as  Grandmother 
said  she  should  look  at  the  clock  and  see  how  long 
we  were  gone.  Emma  Wheeler  went  with  us. 
Anna  says  she  and  Emma  are  as  "  thick  as  hasty 
pudding." 

June. — Rev.  Frederick  Starr,  of  Penn  Yan,  had 
an  exhibition  in  Bemis  Hall  to-day  of  a  tabernacle 
just  like  the  children  of  Israel  carried  with  them  to 
the  Promised  Land.  We  went  to  see  it.  He  made 
it  himself  and  said  he  took  all  the  directions  from 
the  Bible  and  knew  where  to  put  the  curtains  and 
the  poles  and  everything.  It  was  interesting  but  we 
thought  it  would  be  queer  not  to  have  any  church 
to  go  to  but  one  like  that,  that  you  could  take  down 


1856]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  71 

and  put  up  and  carry  around  with  you  wherever  you 
went. 

June. — Rev.  Mr.  Kendall  is  not  going  to  preach 
in  East  Bloomfield  any  more.  The  paper  says  he 
is  going  to  New  York  to  live  and  be  Secretary  of 
the  A.B.C.F.M.  I  asked  Grandmother  what  that 
meant,  and  she  said  he  would  have  to  write  down 
what  the  missionaries  do.  I  guess  that  will  keep 
him  busy.  Grandfather's  nephew,  a  Mr.  Adams  of 
Boston  and  his  wife,  visited  us  about  two  weeks  ago. 
He  is  the  head  of  the  firm  Adams'  Express  Co. 
Anna  asked  them  if  they  ever  heard  the  conundrum 
"  What  was  Eve  made  for  ?  "  and  they  said  no,  so 
she  told  them  the  answer,  "  for  Adam's  express  com- 
pany." They  thought  it  was  quite  good.  When 
they  reached  home,  they  sent  us  each  a  reticule,  with 
scissors,  thimble,  stiletto,  needle-case  and  tiny  pen- 
knife and  some  stamped  embroidery.  They  must 
be  very  rich. 

Saturday  Night,  July. — Grandfather  was  asking 
us  to-night  how  many  things  we  could  remember, 
and  I  told  him  I  could  remember  when  Zachary  Tay- 
lor died,  and  our  church  was  draped  in  black,  and 
Mr.  Daggett  preached  a  funeral  sermon  about  him, 
and  I  could  remember  when  Daniel  Webster  died, 
and  there  was  service  held  in  the  church  and  his  last 
words,  "  I  still  live,"  were  put  up  over  the  pulpit. 
He  said  he  could  remember  when  George  Washing- 


72  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1856 

ton  died  and  when  Benjamin  Franklin  died.  He 
was  seven  years  old  then  and  he  was  seventeen  when 
Washington  died.  Of  course  his  memory  goes  far- 
ther back  than  mine,  but  he  said  I  did  very  well, 
considering. 

July. — I  have  not  written  in  my  journal  for  sev- 
eral days  because  we  have  been  out  of  town. 
Grandfather  had  to  go  to  Victor  on  business  and 
took  Anna  and  me  with  him.  Anna  says  she  loves 
to  ride  on  the  cars  as  it  is  fun  to  watch  the  trees 
and  fences  run  so.  We  took  dinner  at  Dr.  Ball's 
and  came  home  on  the  evening  train.  Then  Judge 
Ellsworth  came  over  from  Penn  Yan  to  see  Grand- 
father on  business  and  asked  if  he  could  take  us 
home  with  him  and  he  said  yes,  so  we  went  and  had 
a  splendid  time  and  stayed  two  days.  Stewart  was 
at  home  and  took  us  all  around  driving  and  took  us 
to  the  graveyard  to  see  our  mother's  grave.  I 
copied  this  verse  from  the  gravestone : 

"  Of  gentle  seeming  was  her  form 
And  the  soft  beaming  of  her  radiant  eye 
Was  sunlight  to  the  beauty  of  her  face. 
Peace,  sacred  peace,  was  written  on  her  brow 
And  flowed  in  the  low  music  of  her  voice 
Which  came  unto  the  list'ner  like  the  tones  of  sooth- 
ing Autumn  winds. 

Her  hands  were  full  of  consolations  which  she  scat- 
tered free  to  all — the  poor,  the  sick,  the  sor- 
rowful." 


1850]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  73 

I  think  she  must  have  been  exactly  like  Grand- 
mother only  she  was  32  and  Grandmother  is  72. 

Stewart  went  to  prayer  meeting  because  it  was 
Wednesday  night,  and  when  he  came  home  his 
mother  asked  him  if  he  took  part  in  the  meeting. 
He  said  he  did  and  she  asked  him  what  he  said. 
He  said  he  told  the  story  of  Ethan  Allen,  the  infidel, 
who  was  dying,  and  his  daughter  asked  him  whose 
religion  she  should  live  by,  his  or  her  mother's,  and 
he  said,  "  Your  mother's,  my  daughter,  your  moth- 
er's." This  pleased  Mrs.  Ellsworth  very  much. 
Stewart  is  a  great  boy  and  you  never  can  tell 
whether  he  is  in  earnest  or  not.  It  was  very  warm 
while  we  were  gone  and  when  we  got  home  Anna 
told  Grandmother  she  was  going  to  put  on  her 
barege  dress  and  take  a  rocking-chair  and  a  glass  of 
ice  water  and  a  palm  leaf  fan  and  go  down  cellar 
and  sit,  but  Grandmother  told  her  if  she  would  just 
sit  still  and  take  a  book  and  get  her  mind  on  some- 
thing else  besides  the  weather,  she  would  be  cool 
enough.  Grandmother  always  looks  as  cool  as  a 
cucumber  even  when  the  thermometer  is  90  in  the 
shade. 

Sunday,  August. — Rev.  Anson  D.  Eddy  preached 
this  morning.  His  text  was  from  the  sixth  chapter 
of  John,  44th  verse.  "  No  man  can  come  to  me, 
except  the  Father  which  hath  sent  me,  draw  him." 
He  is  Tom  Eddy's  father,  and  very  good-looking 
and  smart  too.  He  used  to  be  one  of  the  ministers 


74  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1856 

of  our  church  before  Mr.  Daggett  came.  He  wrote 
a  book  in  our  Sunday  School  library,  about  Old 
Black  Jacob,  and  Grandmother  loves  to  read  it. 
We  had  a  nice  dinner  to-day,  green  peas,  lemonade 
and  gooseberry  pie.  We  had  cold  roast  lamb  too, 
because  Grandmother  never  has  any  meat  cooked  on 
Sunday. 


Sunday. — Mr.  Noah  T.  Clarke  is  superintendent 
of  our  Sunday  School  now,  and  this  morning  he 
asked,  "  What  is  prayer?  "  No  one  answered,  so  I 
stood  up  and  gave  the  definition  from  the  catechism. 
He  seemed  pleased  and  so  was  Grandmother  when 
I  told  her.  Anna  said  she  supposes  she  was  glad 
that  "  her  labor  was  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord."  I 
think  she  is  trying  to  see  if  she  can  say  Bible  verses, 
like  grown-up  people  do. 

Grandfather  said  that  I  did  better  than  the  little 
boy  he  read  about  who,  when  a  visitor  asked  the 
Sunday  School  children  what  was  the  ostensible 
object  of  Sabbath  School  instruction,  waited  till  the 
question  was  repeated  three  times  and  then  stood  up 
and  said,  "  Yes,  sir." 

Wednesday. — We  could  not  go  to  prayer  meeting 
to-night  because  it  rained,  so  Grandmother  said  we 
could  go  into  the  kitchen  and  stand  by  the  window 
and  hear  the  Methodists.  We  could  hear  every 
word  that  old  Father  Thompson  said,  and  every 


1856]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  75 

hymn  they  sung,  but  Mr.  Jervis  used  such  big  words 
we  could  not  understand  him  at  all. 


Sunday. — Grandmother  says  she  loves  to  look  at 
the  beautiful  white  heads  of  Mr.  Francis  Granger 
and  General  Granger  as  they  sit  in  their  pews  in 
church.  She  says  that  is  what  it  means  in  the 
twelfth  chapter  of  Ecclesiastes  where  it  says,  "  And 
the  almond  tree  shall  flourish."  I  don't  know  ex- 
actly why  it  means  them,  but  I  suppose  she  does. 
We  have  got  a  beautiful  almond  tree  in  our  front 
yard  covered  with  flowers,  but  the  blossoms  are  pink. 
Probably  they  had  white  ones  in  Jerusalem,  where 
Solomon  lived. 

Monday. — Mr.  Alex.  Jeffrey  has  come  from 
Lexington,  Ky.,  and  brought  Mrs.  Ross  and  his 
three  daughters,  Julia,  Shaddie  and  Bessie  Jeffrey. 
Mrs.  Ross  knows  Grandmother  and  came  to  call 
and  brought  the  girls.  They  are  very  pretty  and 
General  Granger's  grand-daughters.  I  think  they 
are  going  to  stay  all  summer. 

Thanksgiving  Day. — We  all  went  to  church  and 
Dr.  Daggett's  text  was:  ."He  hath  not  dealt  so 
with  any  nation."  Aunt  Glorianna  and  her  children 
were  here  and  Uncle  Field  and  all  their  family  and 
Dr.  Carr  and  all  his  family.  There  were  about  six- 
teen of  us  in  all  and  we  children  had  a  table  in  the 
corner  all  by  ourselves.  We  had  roast  turkey  and 


76  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1856 

everything  else  we  could  think  of.  After  dinner 
we  went  into  the  parlor  and  Aunt  Glorianna  played 
on  the  piano  and  sang,  "  Flow  gently,  sweet  Afton, 
among  thy  green  braes,"  and  "  Poor  Bessie  was  a 
sailor's  wife."  These  are  Grandfather's  favorites. 
Dr.  Carr  sang  "  I'm  sitting  on  the  stile,  Mary,  where 
we  sat  side  by  side."  He  is  a  beautiful  singer.  It 
seemed  just  like  Sunday,  for  Grandmother  never 
likes  to  have  us  work  or  play  on  Thanksgiving  Day, 
but  we  had  a  very  good  time,  indeed,  and  were  sorry 
when  they  all  went  home. 

Saturday,  December  20. — Lillie  Reeve  and  her 
brother,  Charlie,  have  come  from  Texas  to  live. 
He  goes  to  the  Academy  and  she  boards  with  Miss 
Antoinette  Pierson.  Miss  Pierson  invited  me  up  to 
spend  the  afternoon  and  take  tea  with  her  and  I 
went  and  had  a  very  nice  time.  She  told  me  about 
their  camp  life  in  Texas  and  how  her  mother  died, 
and  her  little  baby  sister,  Minnie,  lives  with  her 
Grandmother  Sheppard  in  Dansville.  She  is  a  very 
nice  girl  and  I  like  her  very  much,  indeed. 


January  8. — Anna  and  Alice  Jewett  caught  a  ride 
down  to  the  lake  this  afternoon  on  a  bob-sleigh,  and 
then  caught  a  ride  back  on  a  load  of  frozen  pigs. 
In  jumping  off,  Anna  tore  her  flannel  petticoat  from 
the  band  down.  I  did  not  enjoy  the  situation  as 
much  as  Anna,  because  I  had  to  sit  up  after  she 
had  gone  to  bed,  and  darn  it  by  candle  light,  because 
she  was  afraid  Grandmother  might  see  the  rent  and 
inquire  into  it,  and  that  would  put  an  end  to  bob- 
sled exploits. 

March  6. — Anna  and  her  set  will  have  to  square 
accounts  with  Mr.  Richards  to-morrow,  for  nine  of 
them  ran  away  from  school  this  afternoon,  Alice 
Jewett,  Louisa  Field,  Sarah  Antes,  Hattie  Paddock, 
Helen  Coy,  Jennie  Ruckel,  Frankie  Younglove, 
Emma  Wheeler  and  Anna.  They  went  out  to  Mr.. 
Sackett's,  where  they  are  making  maple  sugar.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Sackett  were  at  home  and  two  Miss  Sack- 
etts  and  Darius,  and  they  asked  them  in  and  gave 
them  all  the  sugar  they  wanted,  and  Anna  said 
pickles,  too,  and  bread  and  butter,  and  the  more 
pickles  they  ate  the  more  sugar  they  could  eat.  I 
guess  they  will  think  of  pickles  when  Mr.  Richards 
asks  them  where  they  were.  I  think  Ellie  Daggett 

77 


78  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1857 

and  Charlie  Paddock  went,  too,  and  some  of  the 
Academy  boys. 

March  7. — They  all  had  to  stay  after  school  to- 
night for  an  hour  and  copy  Dictionary.  Anna 
seems  reconciled,  for  she  just  wrote  in  her  journal : 
"  It  was  a  very  good  plan  to  keep  us  because  no  one 
ever  ought  to  stay  out  of  school  except  on  account 
of  sickness,  and  if  they  once  get  a  thing  fixed  in 
their  minds  it  will  stay  there,  and  when  they  grow 
up  it  will  do  them  a  great  deal  of  good." 

April. — Grandfather  gave  us  10  cents  each  this 
morning  for  learning  the  46th  Psalm  and  has  prom- 
ised us  $i  each  for  reading  the  Bible  through  in  a 
year.  We  were  going  to  any  way.  Some  of  the 
girls  say  they  should  think  we  would  be  afraid  of 
Grandfather,  he  is  so  sober,  but  we  are  not  the  least 
bit.  He  let  us  count  $1,000  to-night  which  a  Mr. 
Taylor,  a  cattle  buyer,  brought  to  him  in  the  evening 
after  banking  hours.  Anybody  must  be  very  rich 
who  has  all  that  money  of  their  own. 

Friday. — Our  old  horse  is  dead  and  we  will  have 
to  buy  another.  He  was  very  steady  and  faithful. 
One  day  Grandfather  left  him  at  the  front  gate  and 
he  started  along  and  turned  the  corner  all  right, 
down  the  Methodist  lane  and  went  way  down  to  our 
barn  doors  and  stood  there  until  Mr.  Piser  came 
and  took  him  into  the  barn.  People  said  they  set 


1857]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  79 

their  clocks  by  him  because  it  was  always  quarter 
past  12  when  he  was  driven  down  to  the  bank  after 
Grandfather  and  quarter  of  i  when  he  came  back. 
I  don't  think  the  clocks  would  ever  be  too  fast  if 
they  were  set  by  him.  We  asked  Grandfather  what 
he  died  of  and  he  said  he  had  run  his  race  but  I 
think  he  meant  he  had  walked  it,  for  I  never  saw 
him  go  off  a  jog  in  my  life.  Anna  used  to  say  he 
was  taking  a  nap  when  we  were  out  driving  with 
Grandfather.  I  have  written  some  lines  in  his  mem- 
ory and  if  I  knew  where  he  was  buried,  I  would 
print  it  on  his  head  board. 


Old  Dobbin's  dead,  that  good  old  horse, 
We  ne'er  shall  see  him  more, 

He  always  used  to  lag  behind 
But  now  he's  gone  before. 


It  is  a  parody  on  old  Grimes  is  dead,  which  is  in 
our  reader,  only  that  is  a  very  long  poem.  I  am 
not  going  to  show  mine  to  Grandfather  till  he  gets 
over  feeling  bad  about  the  horse. 

Sunday. — Grandmother  gave  Anna,  Doddridge's 
"  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion  in  the  Soul  "  to 
read  to-day.  Anna  says  she  thinks  she  will  have 
to  rise  and  progress  a  good  deal  before  she  will  be 
able  to  appreciate  it.  Baxter's  "  Saints  Rest " 
would  probably  suit  her  better. 


80  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1857 

Sunday,  April  5. — An  agent  for  the  American 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  preached  this  morning 
in  our  church  from  Romans  10:  15:  "  How  shall 
they  hear  without  a  preacher  and  how  shall  they 
preach  except  they  be  sent."  An  agent  from  every 
society  presents  the  cause,  whatever  it  is,  once  a 
year  and  some  people  think  the  anniversary  comes 
around  very  often.  I  always  think  of  Mrs.  George 
Wilson's  poem  on  "  A  apele  for  air,  pewer  air,  certin 
proper  for  the  pews,  which,  she  sez,  is  scarce  as 
piety,  or  bank  bills  when  ajents  beg  for  mischuns, 
wich  sum  say  is  purty  often,  (taint  nothin'  to  me, 
wat  I  give  aint  nothin'  to  nobody)."  I  think  that 
is  about  the  best  poem  of  its  kind  I  ever  read. 

Miss  Lizzie  Bull  told  us  in  Sunday  School  to-day 
that  she  cannot  be  our  Sunday  School  teacher  any 
more,  as  she  and  her  sister  Mary  are  going  to  join 
the  Episcopal  Church.  We  hate  to  have  her  go, 
but  what  can't  be  cured  must  be  endured.  Part  of 
our  class  are  going  into  Miss  Mary  Howell's  class 
and  part  into  Miss  Annie  Pierce's.  They  are  both 
splendid  teachers  and  Miss  Lizzie  Bull  is  another. 
We  had  preaching  in  our  church  this  afternoon,  too. 
Rev.  Samuel  Hanson  Cox,  of  Le  Roy  Female  Semi- 
nary, preached.  He  is  a  great  man,  very  large,  long 
white  hair  combed  back.  I  think  if  a  person  once 
saw  him  they  would  never  forget  him.  He  preached 
about  Melchisidek,  who  had  neither  "  beginning  of 
days  or  end  of  life."  Some  people  thought  that 
was  like  his  sermon,  for  it  was  more  than  one  hour 


1857]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  81 

long.  Dr.  Cox  and  Mrs.  Taylor  came  to  call  and 
asked  Grandfather  to  let  me  go  to  Le  Roy  Female 
Seminary,  but  Grandfather  likes  Ontario  Female 
Seminary  better  than  any  other  in  the  world.  We 
wanted  Grandmother  to  have  her  picture  taken,  but 
she  did  not  feel  able  to  go  to  Mr.  Finley's,  so  he 
came  up  Tuesday  and  took  it  in  our  dining-room. 
She  had  her  best  cap  on  and  her  black  silk  dress  and 
sat  in  her  high  back  rocking  chair  in  her  usual  cor- 
ner near  the  window.  He  brought  one  up  to  show 
us  and  we  like  it  so  much.  Anna  looked  at  it  and 
kissed  it  and  said,  "  Grandmother,  I  think  you  are 
perfectly  beautiful."  She  smiled  and  very  modestly 
put  her  handkerchief  up  to  her  face  and  said,  "  You 
foolish  child,"  but  I  am  sure  she  was  pleased,  for 
how  could  she  help  it  ?  A  man  came  up  to  the  open 
window  one  day  where  she  was  sitting,  with  some- 
thing to  sell,  and  while  she  was  talking  to  him  he 
said,  "  You  must  have  been  handsome,  lady,  when 
you  were  young."  Grandmother  said  it  was  be- 
cause he  wanted  to  sell  his  wares,  but  we  thought 
he  knew  it  was  so.  We  told  her  she  couldn't  get 
around  it  that  way  and  we  asked  Grandfather  and 
he  said  it  was  true.  Our  Sunday  School  class  went 
to  Mr.  Finley's  to-day  and  had  a  group  ambrotype 
taken  for  our  teacher,  Miss  Annie  Pierce;  Susie 
Daggett,  Clara  Willson,  Sarah  Whitney,  Mary  Field 
and  myself.  Mary  Wheeler  ought  to  have  been  in 
it,  too,  but  we  couldn't  get  her  to  come.  We  had 
very  good  success. 


82  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1857 

Thursday. — We  gave  the  ambrotype  to  Miss 
Pierce  and  she  liked  it  very  much  and  so  does  her 
mother  and  Fannie.  Her  mother  is  lame  and  can- 
not go  anywhere  so  we  often  go  to  see  her  and  she 
is  always  glad  to  see  us  and  so  pleasant. 

May  9. — Miss  Lizzie  Bull  came  for  me  to  go  bot- 
anising  with  her  this  morning  and  we  were  gone 
from  9  till  12,  and  went  clear  up  to  the  orphan  asy- 
lum. I  am  afraid  I  am  not  a  born  botanist,  for  all 
the  time  she  was  analysing  the  flowers  and  telling 
me  about  the  corona  and  the  corolla  and  the  calyx 
and  the  stamens  and  petals  and  pistils,  I  was  think- 
ing what  beautiful  hands  she  had  and  how  dainty 
they  looked,  pulling  the  blossoms  all  to  pieces.  I 
am  afraid  I  am  commonplace,  like  the  man  we  read 
of  in  English  literature,  who  said  "  a  primrose  by 
the  river  brim,  a  yellow  primrose,  was  to  him,  and 
it  was  nothing  more." 

Mr.  William  Wood  came  to  call  this  afternoon 
and  gave  us  some  morning-glory  seeds  to  sow  and 
told  us  to  write  down  in  our  journals  that  he  did  so. 
So  here  it  is.  What  a  funny  old  man  he  is.  Anna 
and  Emma  Wheeler  went  to  Hiram  Tousley's 
funeral  to-day.  She  has  just  written  in  her  journal 
that  Hiram's  corpse  was  very  perfect  of  him  and 
that  Fannie  looked  very  pretty  in  black.  She  also 
added  that  after  the  funeral  Grandfather  took  Aunt 
Ann  and  Lucilla  out  to  ride  to  Mr.  Howe's  and  just 
as  they  got  there  it  sprinkled.  She  says  she  don't 


1857]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  83 

know  "  weather  "  they  got  wet  or  not.  She  went 
to  a  picnic  at  Sucker  Brook  yesterday  afternoon, 
and  this  is  the  way  she  described  it  in  her  journal. 
"  Miss  Hurlburt  told  us  all  to  wear  rubbers  and 
shawls  and  bring  some  cake  and  we  would  have  a 
picnic.  We  had  a  very  warm  time.  It  was  very 
warm  indeed  and  I  was  most  roasted  and  we  were 
all  very  thirsty  indeed.  We  had  in  all  the  party 
about  40  of  us.  It  was  very  pleasant  and  I  enjoyed 
myself  exceedingly.  We  had  boiled  eggs,  pickles, 
Dutch  cheese  and  sage  cheese  and  loaf  cake  and 
raisin  cake,  pound  cake,  dried  beef  and  capers,  jam 
and  tea  cakes  and  gingerbread,  and  we  tried  to  catch 
some  fish  but  we  couldn't,  and  in  all  we  had  a  very 
nice  time.  I  forgot  to  say  that  I  picked  some  flow- 
ers for  my  teacher.  I  went  to  bed  tired  out  and 
worn  out." 

Her  next  entry  was  the  following  day  when  she 
and  the  other  scholars  dressed  up  to  "  speak  pieces." 
She  says,  "  After  dinner  I  went  and  put  on  my  rope 
petticoat  and  lace  one  over  it  and  my  barege  de  laine 
dress  and  all  my  rings  and  white  bask  and  breastpin 
and  worked  handkerchief  and  spoke  my  piece.  It 
was,  *  When  I  look  up  to  yonder  sky.'  It  is  very 
pretty  indeed  and  most  all  the  girls  said  I  looked 
nice  and  said  it  nice.  They  were  all  dressed  up, 
too." 

Thursday. — I  asked  Grandfather  why  we  do  not 
have  gas  in  the  house  like  almost  every  one  else 


84  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1857 

and  he  said  because  it  was  bad  for  the  eyes  and  he 
liked  candles  and  sperm  oil  better.  We  have  the 
funniest  little  sperm  oil  lamp  with  a  shade  on  to  read 
by  evenings  and  the  fire  on  the  hearth  gives  Grand- 
father and  Grandmother  all  the  light  they  want,  for 
she  knits  in  her  corner  and  we  read  aloud  to  them 
if  they  want  us  to.  I  think  if  Grandfather  is  proud 
of  anything  besides  being  a  Bostonian,  it  is  that 
everything  in  the  house  is  forty  years  old.  The 
shovel  and  tongs  and  andirons  and  fender  and  the 
haircloth  sofa  and  the  haircloth  rocking  chair  and 
the  flag  bottomed  chairs  painted  dark  green  and  the 
two  old  arm-chairs  which  belong  to  them  and  no  one 
else  ever  thinks  of  touching.  There  is  a  wooden  par- 
tition between  the  dining-room  and  parlor  and  they 
say  it  can  slide  right  up  out  of  sight  on  pulleys,  so 
that  it  would  be  all  one  room.  We  have  often  said 
that  we  wished  we  could  see  it  go  up  but  they  say 
it  has  never  been  up  since  the  day  our  mother  was 
married  and  as  she  is  dead  I  suppose  it  would  make 
them  feel  bad,  so  we  probably  will  always  have  it 
down.  There  are  no  curtains  or  even  shades  at  the 
windows,  because  Grandfather  says,  "  light  is  sweet 
and  a  pleasant  thing  it  is  to  behold  the  sun."  The 
piano  is  in  the  parlor  and  it  is  the  same  one  that  our 
mother  had  when  she  was  a  little  girl  but  we  like  it 
all  the  better  for  that.  There  are  four  large  oil 
paintings  on  the  parlor  wall,  De  Witt  Clinton,  Rev. 
Mr.  Dwight,  Uncle  Henry  Channing  Beals  and  Aunt 
Lucilla  Bates,  and  no  matter  where  we  sit  in  the 


1857]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  85 

room  they  are  watching  and  their  eyes  seem  to  move 
whenever  we  do.  There  is  quite  a  handsome  lamp 
on  a  mahogany  center  table,  but  I  never  saw  it 
lighted.  We  have  four  sperm  candles  in  four  silver 
candlesticks  and  when  we  have  company  we  light 
them.  Johnnie  Thompson,  son  of  the  minister, 
Rev.  M.  L.  R.  P.,  has  come  to  the  academy  to  school 
and  he  is  very  full  of  fun  and  got  acquainted  with 
all  the  girls  very  quick.  He  told  us  this  afternoon 
to  have  "  the  other  candle  lit  "  for  he  was  coming 
down  to  see  us  this  evening.  Will  Schley  heard  him 
say  it  and  he  said  he  was  coming  too.  His  mother 
says  she  always  knows  when  he  has  been  at  our 
house,  because  she  finds  sperm  on  his  clothes  and  has 
to  take  brown  paper  and  a  hot  flatiron  to  get  it  out, 
but  still  I  do  not  think  that  Mrs.  Schley  cares,  for 
she  is  a  very  nice  lady  and  she  and  I  are  great 
friends.  I  presume  she  would  just  as  soon  he 
would  spend  part  of  his  time  with  us  as  to  be  with 
Horace  Finley  all  the  time.  Those  boys  are  just 
like  twins.  We  never  see  one  without  being  sure 
that  the  other  is  not  far  away. 

Later. — The  boys  came  and  we  had  a  very 
pleasant  evening  but  when  the  9  o'clock  bell  rang  we 
heard  Grandfather  winding  up  the  clock  and  scrap- 
ing up  the  ashes  on  the  hearth  to  cover  the  fire  so  it 
would  last  till  morning  and  we  all  understood  the 
signal  and  they  bade  us  good-night.  "  We  won't 


86  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1857 

go  home  till  morning  "  is  a  song  that  will  never  be 
sung  in  this  house. 


June  2. — Abbie  Clark  wrote  such  a  nice  piece  in 
my  album  to-day  I  am  going  to  write  it  in  my  jour- 
nal. Grandfather  says  he  likes  the  sentiment  as 
well  as  any  in  my  book.  This  is  it :  "  It  has  been 
said  that  the  friendship  of  some  people  is  like  our 
shadow,  keeping  close  by  us  while  the  sun  shines, 
deserting  us  the  moment  we  enter  the  shade,  but 
think  not  such  is  the  friendship  of  Abbie  S.  Clark." 
Abbie  and  I  took  supper  at  Miss  Mary  Howell's  to- 
night to  see  Adele  Ives.  We  had  a  lovely  time. 

Tuesday. — General  Tom  Thumb  was  in  town  to- 
day and  everybody  who  wanted  to  see  him  could  go 
to  Bemis  Hall.  Twenty-five  cents  for  old  people, 
and  10  cents  for  children,  but  we  could  see  him  for 
nothing  when  he  drove  around  town.  He  had  a 
little  carriage  and  two  little  bits  of  ponies  and  a  little 
boy  with  a  high  silk  hat  on,  for  the  driver.  He  sat 
inside  the  coach  but  we  could  see  him  looking  out. 
We  went  to  the  hall  in  the  afternoon  and  the  man 
who  brought  him  stood  by  him  and  looked  like  a 
giant  and  told  us  all  about  him.  Then  he  asked 
Tom  Thumb  to  make  a  speech  and  stood  him  upon 
the  table.  He  told  all  the  ladies  he  would  give 
them  a  kiss  if  they  would  come  up  and  buy  his  pic- 
ture. Some  of  them  did. 


1857]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  87 

Friday,  July. — I  have  not  kept  a  journal  for  two 
weeks  because  we  have  been  away  visiting.  Anna 
and  I  had  an  invitation  to  go  to  Utica  to  visit  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  Brandigee.  He  is  rector  of  Grace  Epis- 
copal church  there  and  his  wife  used  to  belong  to 
Father's  church  in  Morristown,  N.  J.  Her  name 
was  Miss  Condict.  Rev.  Mr.  Stowe  was  going  to 
Hamilton  College  at  Clinton,  so  he  said  he  would 
take  us  to  Utica.  We  had  a  lovely  time.  The  cor- 
ner stone  of  the  church  was  laid  while  we  were  there 
and  Bishop  De  Lancey  came  and  stayed  with  us  at 
Mr.  Brandigee's.  He  is  a  very  nice  man  and  likes 
children.  One  morning  they  had  muffins  for  break- 
fast and  Anna  asked  if  they  were  ragamuffins.  Mr. 
Brandigee  said,  "  Yes,  they  are  made  of  rags  and 
brown  paper,"  but  we  knew  he  was  just  joking. 
When  we  came  away  Mrs.  Brandigee  gave  me  a 
prayer  book  and  Anna  a  vase,  but  she  didn't  like  it 
and  said  she  should  tell  Mrs.  Brandigee  she  wanted 
a  prayer  book  too,  so  I  had  to  change  with  her. 
When  we  came  home  Mr.  Brandigee  put  us  in  care 
of  the  conductor.  There  was  a  fine  soldier  looking 
man  in  the  car  with  us  and  we  thought  it  was  his 
wife  with  him.  He  wore  a  blue  coat  and  brass  but- 
tons, and  some  one  said  his  name  was  Custer  and 
that  he  was  a  West  Point  cadet  and  belonged  to  the 
regular  army.  I  told  Anna  she  had  better  behave 
or  he  would  see  her,  but  she  would  go  out  and 
stand  on  the  platform  until  the  conductor  told  her 
not  to.  I  pulled  her  dress  and  looked  very  stern  at 


38  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1857 

her  and  motioned  toward  Mr.  Custer,  but  it  did  not 
seem  to  have  any  impression  on  her.  I  saw  Mr. 
Custer  smile  once  because  my  words  had  no  effect. 
I  was  glad  when  we  got  to  Canandaigua.  I  heard 
some  one  say  that  Dr.  Jewett  was  at  the  depot  to 
take  Mr.  Custer  and  his  wife  to  his  house,  but  I  only 
saw  Grandfather  coming  after  us.  He  said,  "  Well, 
girls,  you  have  been  and  you  have  got  back,"  but  I 
could  see  that  he  was  glad  to  have  us  at  home  again, 
even  if  we  are  "  troublesome  comforts,"  as  he  some- 
times says. 

July  4. — Barnum's  circus  was  in  town  to-day  and 
if  Grandmother  had  not  seen  the  pictures  on  the 
hand  bills  I  think  she  would  have  let  us  go.  She 
said  it  was  all  right  to  look  at  the  creatures  God  had 
made  but  she  did  not  think  He  ever  intended  that 
women  should  go  only  half  dressed  and  stand  up  and 
ride  on  horses  bare  back,  or  jump  through  hoops  in 
the  air.  So  we  could  not  go.  We  saw  the  street 
parade  though  and  heard  the  band  play  and  saw  the 
men  and  women  in  a  chariot,  all  dressed  so  fine,  and 
we  saw  a  big  elephant  and  a  little  one  and  a  camel 
with  an  awful  hump  on  his  back,  and  we  could  hear 
the  lion  roar  in  the  cage,  as  they  went  by.  It  must 
have  been  nice  to  see  them  close  to  and  probably  we 
will  some  day. 

August  8. — Grandfather  has  given  me  his  whole 
set  of  Waverley  novels  and  his  whole  set  of  Shake- 


Grandmother's  Rocking  Chair 


The  Grandfather  Clock 


1857]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  89 

speare's  plays,  and  has  ordered  Mr.  Jahn,  the  cabi- 
netmaker, to  make  me  a  black  walnut  bookcase,  with 
glass  doors  and  three  deep  drawers  underneath, 
with  brass  handles.  He  is  so  good.  Anna  says 
perhaps  he  thinks  I  am  going  to  be  married  and  go 
to  housekeeping  some  day.  Well,  perhaps  he  does. 
Stranger  things  have  happened.  "  Barkis  is  will- 
in',"  and  I  always  like  to  please  Grandfather.  I 
have  just  read  David  Copperfield  and  was  so  inter- 
ested I  could  not  leave  it  alone  till  I  finished  it. 

September  i. — Anna  and  I  have  been  in  Litch- 
field,  Conn.,  at  Father's  school  for  boys.  It  is  kept 
in  the  old  Beecher  house,  where  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher 
lived.  We  went  up  into  the  attic,  which  is  light  and 
airy,  where  they  say  he  used  to  write  his  famous  ser- 
mons. James  is  one  of  the  teachers  and  he  came 
for  us.  We  went  to  Farmington  and  saw  all  the 
Cowles  families,  as  they  are  our  cousins.  Then  we 
drove  by  the  Charter  Oak  and  saw  all  there  is  left 
of  it.  It  was  blown  down  last  year  but  the  stump 
is  fenced  around.  In  Hartford  we  visited  Gallau- 
det's  Institution  for  the  deaf  and  dumb  and  went  to 
the  historical  rooms,  where  we  saw  some  of  George 
Washington's  clothes  and  his  watch  and  his  pen- 
knife, but  we  did  not  see  his  little  hatchet.  We 
stayed  two  weeks  in  New  York  and  vicinity  before 
we  came  home.  Uncle  Edward  took  us  to  Christie's 
Minstrels  and  the  Hippodrome,  so  we  saw  all  the 
things  we  missed  seeing  when  the  circus  was  here  in 


90  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1857 

town.  Grandmother  seemed  surprised  when  we 
told  her,  but  she  didn't  say  much  because  she  was  so 
glad  to  have  us  at  home  again.  Anna  said  we  ought 
to  bring  a  present  to  Grandfather  and  Grandmother, 
for  she  read  one  time  about  some  children  who  went 
away  and  came  back  grown  up  and  brought  home 
"  busts  of  the  old  philosophers  for  the  sitting-room," 
so  as  we  saw  some  busts  of  George  Washington  and 
Benjamin  Franklin  in  plaster  of  paris  we  bought 
them,  for  they  look  almost  like  marble  and  Grand- 
father and  Grandmother  like  them.  Speaking  of 
busts  reminds  me  of  a  conundrum  I  heard  while  I 
was  gone.  "  How  do  we  know  that  Poe's  Raven 
was  a  dissipated  bird  ?  Because  he  was  all  night  on 
a  bust."  Grandfather  took  us  down  to  the  bank  to 
see  how  he  had  it  made  over  while  we  were  gone. 
We  asked  him  why  he  had  a  beehive  hanging  out  for 
a  sign  and  he  said,  "  Bees  store  their  honey  in  the 
summer  for  winter  use  and  men  ought  to  store  their 
money  against  a  rainy  day."  He  has  a  swing  door 
to  the  bank  with  "  Push  "  on  it.  He  said  he  saw  a 
man  studying  it  one  day  and  finally  looking  up  he 
spelled  p-u-s-h,  push  (and  pronounced  it  like  mush). 
"What  does  that  mean?"  Grandfather  showed 
him  what  it  meant  and  he  thought  it  was  very  con- 
venient. He  was  about  as  thick-headed  as  the  man 
who  saw  some  snuffers  and  asked  what  they  were 
for  and  when  told  to  snuff  the  candle  with,  he  imme- 
diately snuffed  the  candle  with  his  fingers  and  put  it 
in  the  snuffers  and  said,  "  Law  sakes,  how  handy !  " 


1857]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  91 

Grandmother  really  laughed  when  she  read  this  in 
the  paper. 

September. — Mrs.  Martin,  of  Albany,  is  visiting 
Aunt  Ann,  and  she  brought  Grandmother  a  fine  fish 
that  was  caught  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  We  went 
over  and  asked  her  to  come  to  dinner  to-morrow  and 
help  eat  it  and  she  said  if  it  did  not  rain  pitchforks 
she  would  come,  so  I  think  we  may  expect  her.  Her 
granddaughter,  Hattie  Blanchard,  has  come  here  to 
go  to  the  seminary  and  will  live  with  Aunt  Ann. 
She  is  a  very  pretty  girl.  Mary  Field  came  over 
this  morning  and  we  went  down  street  together. 
Grandfather  went  with  us  to  Mr.  Nat  Gorham's 
store,  as  he  is  selling  off  at  cost,  and  got  Grand- 
mother and  me  each  a  new  pair  of  kid  gloves.  Hers 
are  black  and  mine  are  green.  Hers  cost  six  shil- 
lings and  mine  cost  five  shillings  and  six  pence ;  very 
cheap  for  such  nice  ones.  Grandmother  let  Anna 
have  six  little  girls  here  to  supper  to-night :  Louisa 
Field,  Hattie  Paddock,  Helen  Coy,  Martha  Dens- 
more,  Emma  Wheeler  and  Alice  Jewett.  We  had  a 
splendid  supper  and  then  we  played  cards.  I  do  not 
mean  regular  cards,  mercy  no !  Grandfather  thinks 
those  kind  are  contagious  or  outrageous  or  some- 
think  dreadful  and  never  keeps  them  in  the  house. 
Grandmother  said  they  found  a  pack  once,  when  the 
hired  man's  room  was  cleaned,  and  they  went  into 
the  fire  pretty  quick.  The  kind  we  played  was 
just  "  Dr.  Busby,"  and  another  "  The  Old  Soldier 


92  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1857 

and  His  Dog."  There  are  counters  with  them,  and 
if  you  don't  have  the  card  called  for  you  have  to 
pay  one  into  the  pool.  It  is  real  fun.  They  all  said 
they  had  a  very  nice  time,  indeed,  when  they  bade 
Grandmother  good-night,  and  said :  "  Mrs.  Beals, 
you  must  let  Carrie  and  Anna  come  and  see  us  some 
time,"  and  she  said  she  would.  I  think  it  is  nice  to 
have  company. 

Christmas. — Grandfather  and  Grandmother  do 
not  care  much  about  making  Christmas  presents. 
They  say,  when  they  were  young  no  one  observed 
Christmas  or  New  Years,  but  they  always  kept 
Thanksgiving  day.  Our  cousins,  the  Fields  and 
Carrs,  gave  us  several  presents  and  Uncle  Edward 
sent  us  a  basket  full  from  New  York  by  express. 
Aunt  Ann  gave  me  one  of  the  Lucy  books  and  a 
Franconia  story  book  and  to  Anna,  "  The  Child's 
Book  on  Repentance."  When  Anna  saw  the  title, 
she  whispered  to  me  and  said  if  she  had  done  any- 
thing she  was  sorry  for  she  was  willing  to  be  for- 
given. I  am  afraid  she  will  never  read  hers  but  I 
will  lend  her  mine.  Miss  Lucy  Ellen  Guernsey,  of 
Rochester,  gave  me  "  Christmas  Earnings "  and 
wrote  in  it,  "  Carrie  C.  Richards  with  the  love  of 
the  author."  I  think  that  is  very  nice.  Anna  and 
I  were  chattering  like  two  magpies  to-day,  and  a 
man  came  in  to  talk  to  Grandfather  on  business. 
He  told  us  in  an  undertone  that  children  should  be 
seen  and  not  heard.  After  he  had  gone  I  saw  Anna 


i857l       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  93 

watching  him  a  long  time  till  he  was  only  a  speck  in 
the  distance  and  I  asked  her  what  she  was  doing. 
She  said  she  was  doing  it  because  it  was  a  sign  if 
you  watched  persons  out  of  sight  you  would  never 
see  them  again.  She  does  not  seem  to  have  a  very 
forgiving  spirit,  but  you  can't  always  tell. 

Mr.  William  Wood,  the  venerable  philanthropist 
of  whom  Canandaigua  has  been  justly  proud  for 
many  years,  is  dead.  I  have  preserved  this  poem, 
written  by  Mrs.  George  Willson  in  his  honor : 

"  MR.  EDITOR — The  following  lines  were  written  by 
a  lady  of  this  village,  and  have  been  heretofore  pub- 
lished, but  on  reading  in  your  last  paper  the  interest- 
ing extract  relating  to  the  late  William  Wood,  Esq., 
it  was  suggested  that  they  be  again  published,  not 
only  for  their  merit,  but  also  to  keep  alive  the  memory 
of  one  who  has  done  so  much  to  ornament  our  vil- 
lage.—H." 

When  first  on  this  stage  of  existence  we  come 
Blind,  deaf,  puny,  helpless,  but  not,  alas,  dumb, 
What  can  please  us,  and  soothe  us,  and  make  us  sleep 

good? 
To  be  rocked  in  a  cradle ; — and  cradles  are  wood. 

When  older  we  grow,  and  we  enter  the  schools 
Where  masters  break  rulers  o'er  boys  who  break  rules, 
What  can  curb  and  restrain  and  make  laws  understood 
But  the  birch-twig  and  ferule  ? — and  both  are  of  wood. 

When  old  age — second  childhood,  takes  vigor  away, 
And  we  totter  along  toward  our  home  in  the  clay, 


94  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1857 

What  can  aid  us  to  stand  as  in  manhood  we  stood 
But  our  tried,  trusty  staff  ? — and  the  staff  is  of  wood. 

And  when  from  this  stage  of  existence  we  go, 
And  death  drops  the  curtain  on  all  scenes  below, 
In  our  coffins  we  rest,  while  for  worms  we  are  food, 
And  our  last  sleeping  place,  like  our  first,  is  of  wood. 

Then  honor  to  wood !  fresh  and  strong  may  it  grow, 
'Though  winter  has  silvered  its  summit  with  snow ; 
Embowered  in  its  shade  long  our  village  has  stood ; 
She'd  scarce  be  Canandaigua  if  stripped  of  her  Wood. 


Stanza  added  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Wood 

The  sad  time  is  come ;  she  is  stript  of  her  Wood, 
'Though  the  trees  that  he  planted  still  stand  where  they 

stood, 
Still  with  storms  they  can  wrestle  with  arms  stout  and 

brave ; 
Still  they  wave  o'er  our  dwellings — they  droop  o'er  his 

grave ! 

Alas !  that  the  life  of  the  cherished  and  good 
Is  more  frail  and  more  brief  than  the  trees  of  the 

wood! 


1858 

9 

February  24,  1858. — The  boarders  at  the  Semi- 
nary had  some  tableaux  last  evening  and  invited  a 
great  many  from  the  village.  As  we  went  in  with 
the  crowd,  we  heard  some  one  say,  "  Are  they  going 
to  have  tableaux  ?  Well,  I  thought  I  smelt  them !  " 
They  were  splendid.  Mr.  Chubbuck  was  in  nearly 
all  of  them.  The  most  beautiful  one  was  Abraham 
offering  up  Isaac.  Mr.  Chubbuck  was  Abraham 
and  Sarah  Ripley  was  Isaac.  After  the  tableaux 
they  acted  a  charade.  The  word  was  "  Master- 
piece." It  was  fine.  After  the  audience  got  half 
way  out  of  the  chapel  Mr.  Richards  announced 
"'*  The  Belle  of  the  Evening."  The  curtain  rose  and 
every  one  rushed  back,  expecting  to  see  a  young  lady 
dressed  in  the  height  of  fashion,  when  immediately 
the  Seminary  bell  rang!  Mr.  Blessner's  scholars 
gave  all  the  music  and  he  stamped  so,  beating  time, 
it  almost  drowned  the  music.  Some  one  suggested 
a  bread  and  milk  poultice  for  his  foot.  Anna  has 
been  taking  part  in  some  private  theatricals.  The 
play  is  in  contrast  to  "  The  Spirit  of  '76  "  and  the 
idea  carried  out  is  that  the  men  should  stay  at  home 
and  rock  the  cradles  and  the  women  should  take  the 
rostrum.  Grandmother  was  rather  opposed  to  the 
idea,  but  every  one  wanted  Anna  to  take  the  part  of 

95 


96  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1858 

leading  lady,  so  she  consented.  She  even  helped 
Anna  make  her  bloomer  suit  and  sewed  on  the  braid 
for  trimming  on  the  skirt  herself.  She  did  not 
know  that  Anna's  opening  sentence  was,  "  How  are 
you,  sir?  Cigar,  please!"  It  was  acted  at  Mrs. 
John  Bates'  house  on  Gibson  Street  and  was  a  great 
success,  but  when  they  decided  to  repeat  it  another 
evening  Grandmother  told  Anna  she  must  choose  be- 
tween going  on  the  stage  and  living  with  her  Grand- 
mother, so  Anna  gave  it  up  and  some  one  else  took 
her  part. 

March. — There  is  a  great  deal  said  about  spirits 
nowadays  and  a  lot  of  us  girls  went  into  one  of  the 
recitation  rooms  after  school  to-night  and  had  a 
spiritual  seance.  We  sat  around  Mr.  Chubbuck's 
table  and  put  our  hands  on  it  and  it  moved  around 
and  stood  on  two  legs  and  sometimes  on  one.  I 
thought  the  girls  helped  it  but  they  said  they  didn't. 
We  heard  some  loud  raps,  too,  but  they  sounded 
very  earthly  to  me.  Eliza  Burns,  one  of  the  board- 
ers, told  us  if  we  would  hold  our  breath  we  could 
pick  up  one  of  the  girls  from  the  floor  and  raise  her 
up  over  our  heads  with  one  finger  of  each  hand,  if 
the  girl  held  her  breath,  too.  We  tried  it  with 
Anna  and  did  it,  but  we  had  such  hard  wrork  to  keep 
from  laughing  I  expected  we  would  drop  her. 
There  is  nothing  very  spirituelle  about  any  of  us. 
I  told  Grandmother  and  she  said  we  reminded  her  of 
Jemima  Wilkinson,  who  told  all  her  followers  that 


1858]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  97 

the  world  was  to  come  to  an  end  on  a  certain  day 
and  they  should  all  be  dressed  in  white  and  get  up 
on  the  roofs  of  the  houses  and  be  prepared  to  ascend 
and  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air.  I  asked  Grandmother 
what  she  said  when  nothing  happened  and  she  said 
she  told  them  it  was  because  they  did  not  have  faith 
enough.  If  they  had,  everything  would  have  hap- 
pened just  as  she  said.  Grandmother  says  that  one 
day  at  a  time  has  always  been  enough  for  her  and 
that  to-morrow  will  take  care  of  the  things  of  itself. 

May,  1858. — Several  of  us  girls  went  up  into  the 
top  of  the  new  Court  House  to-day  as  far  as  the 
workmen  would  allow  us.  We  got  a  splendid  view 
of  the  lake  and  of  all  the  country  round.  Abbie 
Clark  climbed  up  on  a  beam  and  recited  part  of 
Alexander  Selkirk's  soliloquy : 

"  I'm  monarch  of  all  I  survey, 
My  rights  there  are  none  to  dispute : 
From  the  center,  all  round  to  the  sea, 
I'm  lord  of  the  frwl  and  brute." 

I  was  standing  on  a  block  and  she  said  I  looked 
like  "  Patience  on  a  monument  smiling  at  Grief."  I 
am  sure  she  could  not  be  taken  for  "  Grief."  She 
always  has  some  quotation  on  her  tongue's  end. 
We  were  down  at  Sucker  Brook  the  other  day  and 
she  picked  her  way  out  to  a  big  stone  in  the  middle 
of  the  stream  and,  standing  on  it,  said,  in  the  words 
of  Rhoderick  Dhu, 


98  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1858 

"  Come  one,  come  all,  this  rock  shall  fly 
From  its  firm  base,  as  soon  as  I." 


Just  then  the  big  stone  tipped  over  and  she  had 
to  wade  ashore.  She  is  not  at  all  afraid  of  climbing 
and  as  we  left  the  Court  House  she  said  she  would 
like  to  go  outside  on  the  cupola  and  help  Justice  bal- 
ance the  scales. 

A  funny  old  man  came  to  our  house  to-day  as  he 
wanted  to  deposit  some  money  and  reached  the  bank 
after  it  was  closed.  We  were  just  sitting  down  to 
dinner  so  Grandfather  asked  him  to  stay  and  have 
"  pot  luck  "  with  us.  He  said  that  he  was  very 
much  "  obleeged  "  and  stayed  and  passed  his  plate 
a  second  time  for  more  of  our  very  fine  "  pot  luck." 
We  had  boiled  beef  and  dumplings  and  I  suppose  he 
thought  that  was  the  name  of  the  dish.  He  talked 
so  queer  we  couldn't  help  noticing  it.  He  said  he 
"  heered  "  so  and  he  was  "  afeered  "  and  somebody 
was  very  "  deef  "  and  they  "  hadn't  ought  to  have 
done  it  "  and  "  they  should  have  went  "  and  such 
things.  Anna  and  I  almost  laughed  but  Grand- 
mother looked  at  us  with  her  eye  and  forefinger  so 
we  sobered  down.  She  told  us  afterwards  that 
there  are  many  good  people  in  the  world  whose 
verbs  and  nouns  do  not  agree,  and  instead  of  laugh- 
ing at  them  we  should  be  sure  that  we  always  speak 
correctly  ourselves.  Very  true.  Dr.  Daggett  was 
at  the  Seminary  one  day  when  we  had  public  exer- 
cises and  he  told  me  afterwards  that  I  said 


1858]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  99 

"sagac-ious  "  for  "  saga-cious  "  and  Aunt  Ann  told 
me  that  I  said  "  epi-tome  "  for  "  e-pit-o-me."  So 
"  people  that  live  in  glass  houses  shouldn't  throw 
stones." 

Sunday. — Grandfather  read  his  favorite  parable 
this  morning  at  prayers — the  one  about  the  wise  man 
who  built  his  house  upon  a  rock  and  the  foolish  man 
who  built  upon  the  sand.  He  reads  it  good,  just 
like  a  minister.  He  prays  good,  too,  and  I  know 
his  prayer  by  heart.  He  says,  "  Verily  Thou  art 
our  Father,  though  Abraham  be  ignorant  of  us  and 
Israel  acknowledge  us  not,"  and  he  always  says, 
"  Thine  arm  is  not  shortened  that  it  cannot  save, 
or  Thine  ear  heavy  that  it  cannot  hear."  I  am  glad 
that  I  can  remember  it. 

June. — Cyrus  W.  Field  called  at  our  house  to- 
day. He  is  making  a  trip  through  the  States  and 
stopped  here  a  few  hours  because  Grandmother  is 
his  aunt.  He  made  her  a  present  of  a  piece  of  the 
Atlantic  cable  about  six  inches  long,  which  he  had 
mounted  for  her.  It  is  a  very  nice  souvenir.  He 
is  a  tall,  fine  looking  man  and  very  pleasant. 

Sunday,  July  4,  1858. — This  is  Communion  Sun- 
day and  quite  a  number  united  with  the  church 
on  profession  of  their  faith.  Mr.  Gideon  Granger 
was  one  of  them.  Grandmother  says  that  she  has 
known  him  always  and  his  father  and  mother,  and 


ioo          VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1858 

she  thinks  he  is  like  John,  the  beloved  disciple.  I 
think  that  any  one  who  knows  him,  knows  what  is 
meant  by  a  gentle-man.  I  have  a  picture  of  Christ 
in  the  Temple  with  the  doctors,  and  His  face  is 
almost  exactly  like  Mr.  Granger's.  Some  others 
who  joined  to-day  were  Miss  Belle  Paton,  Miss  Lot- 
tie Clark  and  Clara  Willson,  Mary  Wheeler  and 
Sarah  Andrews.  Dr.  Daggett  always  asks  all  the 
communicants  to  sit  in  the  body  pews  and  the  non- 
communicants  in  the  side  pews.  We  always  feel 
like  the  goats  on  the  left  when  we  leave  Grandfather 
and  Grandmother  and  go  on  the  side,  but  we  won't 
have  to  always.  Abbie  Clark,  Mary  Field  and  I 
think  we  will  join  at  the  communion  in  September. 
Grandmother  says  she  hopes  we  realize  what  a  sol- 
emn thing  it  is.  We  are  fifteen  years  old  so  I  think 
we  ought  to.  No  one  who  hears  Dr.  Daggett  say 
in  his  beautiful  voice,  "  I  now  renounce  all  ways  of 
sin  as  what  I  truly  abhor  and  choose  the  service  of 
God  as  my  greatest  privilege,"  could  think  it  any 
trifling  matter.  I  feel  as  though  I  couldn't  be  bad 
if  I  wanted  to  be,  and  when  he  blesses  them  and 
says,  "  May  the  God  of  the  Everlasting  Covenant 
keep  you  firm  and  holy  to  the  end  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord,"  everything  seems  complete.  He 
always  says  at  the  close,  "  And  when  they  had  sung 
an  hymn  they  went  out  into  the  Mount  of  Olives." 
Then  he  gives  out  the  hymn,  beginning : 

"  According  to  Thy  gracious  word, 
In  deep  humility, 


1858]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  101 

This  will  I  do,  my  dying  Lord 
I  will  remember  Thee." 


And  the  last  verse: 

"  And  when  these  failing  lips  grow  dumb, 

And  mind  and  memory  flee, 
When  in  Thy  kingdom  Thou  shalt  come, 
Jesus  remember  me." 

Deacon  Taylor  always  starts  the  hymn.  Deacon 
Taylor  and  Deacon  Tyler  sit  on  one  side  of  Dr. 
Daggett  and  Deacon  Clarke  and  Deacon  Castle  on 
the  other.  Grandfather  and  Grandmother  joined 
the  church  fifty-one  years  ago  and  are  the  oldest 
living  members.  She  says  they  have  always  been 
glad  that  they  took  this  step  when  they  were  young. 

August  17. — There  was  a  celebration  in  town 
to-day  because  the  Queen's  message  was  received  on 
the  Atlantic  cable.  Guns  were  fired  and  church 
bells  rung  and  flags  were  waving  everywhere.  In 
the  evening  there  was  a  torchlight  procession  and  the 
town  was  all  lighted  up  except  Gibson  Street.  Allie 
Antes  died  this  morning,  so  the  people  on  that  street 
kept  their  houses  as  usual.  Anna  says  that  prob- 
ably Allie  Antes  was  better  prepared  to  die  than  any 
other  little  girl  :n  town.  Atwater  hall  and  the 
academy  and  the  il  were  more  brilliantly  illumi- 
nated than  any  (  buildings.  Grandfather  saw 
something  in  a  x  ..on  paper  that  a  minister  said 


102  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1858 

in  his  sermon  about  the  Atlantic  cable  and  he 
wants  me  to  write  it  down  in  my  journal.  This  is 
it :  "  The  two  hemispheres  are  now  successfully 
united  by  means  of  the  electric  wire,  but  what  is  it, 
after  all,  compared  with  the  instantaneous  communi- 
cation between  the  Throne  of  Divine  Grace  and  the 
heart  of  man?  Offer  up  your  silent  petition.  It  is 
transmitted  through  realms  of  unmeasured  space 
more  rapidly  than  the  lightning's  flash,  and  the 
answer  reaches  the  soul  e're  the  prayer  has  died 
away  on  the  sinner's  lips.  Yet  this  telegraph,  per- 
forming its  saving  functions  ever  since  Christ  died 
for  men  on  Calvary,  fills  not  the  world  with  exulta- 
tion and  shouts  of  gladness,  with  illuminations  and 
bonfires  and  the  booming  of  cannon.  The  reason 
is,  one  is  the  telegraph  of  this  world  and  may  pro- 
duce revolutions  on  earth;  the  other  is  the  sweet 
communication  between  Christ  and  the  Christian 
soul  and  will  secure  a  glorious  immortality  in 
Heaven."  Grandfather  appreciates  anything  like 
that  and  I  like  to  please  him. 

Grandfather  says  he  thinks  the  I9th  Psalm  is  a 
prophecy  of  the  electric  telegraph.  '  Their  line 
is  gone  out  through  all  the  earth  and  their  words  to 
the  end  of  the  world."  It  certainly  sounds  like  it. 

Sunday. — Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  is  staying 
at  Judge  Taylor's  and  came  with  them  to  church 
to-day.  Everybody  knew  that  he  was  here  and 
thought  he  would  preach  and  the  church  was  packed 


1858]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  103 

full.  When  he  came  in  he  went  right  to  Judge 
Taylor's  pew  and  sat  with  him  and  did  not  preach 
at  all,  but  it  was  something  to  look  at  him.  Mr. 
Daggett  was  away  on  his  vacation  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Jervis  of  the  M.  E.  church  preached.  I  heard  some 
people  say  they  guessed  even  Mr.  Beecher  heard 
some  new  words  to-day,  for  Mr.  Jervis  is  quite  a 
hand  to  make  them  up  or  find  very  long  hard  ones 
in  the  dictionary. 

August  30,  1858. — Rev.  Mr.  Tousley  was  hurt 
to-day  by  the  falling  of  his  barn  which  was  being 
moved,  and  they  think  his  back  is  broken  and  if  he 
lives  he  can  never  sit  up  again.  Only  last  Sunday 
he  was  in  Sunday  School  and  had  us  sing  in  mem- 
ory of  Allie  Antes  : 

"  A  mourning  class,  a  vacant  seat, 
Tell  us  that  one  we  loved  to  meet 
Will  join  our  youthful  throng  no  more, 
'Till  all  these  changing  scenes  are  o'er." 

And  now  he  will  never  meet  with  us  again  and  the 
children  will  never  have  another  minister  all  their 
own.  He  thinks  he  may  be  able  to  write  letters  to 
the  children  and  perhaps  write  his  own  life.  We  all 
hope  he  may  be  able  to  sit  up  if  he  cannot  walk. 

We  went  to  our  old  home  in  Penn  Yan  visiting 
last  week  and  stayed  at  Judge  Ellsworth's.  We 
called  to  see  the  Tunnicliffs  and  the  Olivers,  Wells, 
Jones,  Shepards,  Glovers,  Bennetts,  Judds  and  sev- 


104  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1858 

eral  other  families.  They  were  glad  to  see  us  for 
the  sake  of  our  father  and  mother.  .  Father  was 
their  pastor  from  1841  to  1847. 

Some  one  told  us  that  when  Bob  and  Henry 
Antes  were  small  boys  they  thought  they  would  like 
to  try,  just  for  once,  to  see  how  it  would  seem  to 
be  bad,  so  in  spite  of  all  of  Mr.  Tousley's  sermons 
they  went  out  behind  the  barn  one  day  and  in  a 
whisper  Bob  said,  "  I  swear,"  and  Henry  said,  "  So 
do  I."  Then  they  came  into  the  house  looking 
guilty  and  quite  surprised,  I  suppose,  that  they 
were  not  struck  dead  just  as  Ananias  and  Sapphira 
were  for  lying. 

September. — I  read  in  a  New  York  paper  to-day 
that  Hon.  George  Peabody,  of  England,  presented 
Cyrus  W.  Field  with  a  solid  silver  tea  service  of 
twelve  pieces,  which  cost  $4,000.  The  pieces  bear 
likenesses  of  Mr.  Peabody  and  Mr.  Field,  with  the 
coat  of  arms  of  the  Field  family.  The  epergne  is 
supported  by  a  base  representing  the  genius  of 
America. 

We  had  experiments  in  the  philosophy  class  to- 
day and  took  electric  shocks.  Mr.  Chubbuck  man- 
aged the  battery  which  has  two  handles  attached. 
Two  of  the  girls  each  held  one  of  these  and  we  all 
took  hold  of  hands  making  the  circuit  complete. 
After  a  while  it  jerked  us  almost  to  pieces  and  we 
asked  Mr.  Chubbuck  to  turn  it  off.  Dana  Luther, 
one  of  the  Academy  boys,  walked  up  from  the  Post- 


1858]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  105 

office  with  me  this  noon.  He  lives  in  Naples  and 
is  Florence  Younglove's  cousin.  We  went  to  a 
ball  game  down  on  Pleasant  Street  after  school.  I 
got  so  far  ahead  of  Anna  coming  home  she  called 
me  her  "  distant  relative." 


January,  1859. — Mr.  Woodruff  came  to  see 
Grandfather  to  ask  him  if  we  could  attend  his  sing- 
ing school.  He  is  going  to  have  it  one  evening  each 
week  in  the  chapel  of  our  church.  Quite  a  lot  of 
the  boys  and  girls  are  going,  so  we  were  glad  when 
Grandfather  gave  his  consent.  Mr.  Woodruff 
wants  us  all  to  sing  by  note  and  teaches  "  do  re  me 
fa  sol  la  si  do  "  from  the  blackboard  and  beats  time 
with  a  stick.  He  lets  us  have  a  recess,  which  is 
more  fun  than  all  the  rest  of  it.  He  says  if  we 
practise  well  we  can  have  a  concert  in  Bemis  Hall 
to  end  up  with.  What  a  treat  that  will  be! 

February. — Anna  has  been  teasing  me  all  the 
morning  about  a  verse  which  John  Albert  Granger 
Barker  wrote  in  my  album.  He  has  a  most  fasci- 
nating lisp  when  he  talks,  so  she  says  this  is  the 
way  the  verse  reads : 

"  Beauty  of  perthon,  ith  thertainly  chawming 
Beauty  of  feachure,  by  no  meanth  alawming 
But  give  me  in  pwefrence,  beauty  of  mind, 
Or  give  me  Cawwie,  with  all  thwee  combined." 

It  takes  Anna  to  find  "  amuthement "  in  "  evewy- 
thing." 

106 


1859]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  107 

Mary  Wheeler  came  over  and  pierced  my  ears 
to-day,  so  I  can  wear  my  new  earrings  that  Uncle 
Edward  sent  me.  She  pinched  my  ear  until  it  was 
numb  and  then  pulled  a  needle  through,  threaded 
with  silk.  Anna  would  not  stay  in  the  room.  She 
wants  her's  done  but  does  not  dare.  It  is  all  the 
fashion  for  girls  to  cut  off  their  hair  and  friz  it. 
Anna  and  I  have  cut  off  ours  and  Bessie  Seymour 
got  me  to  cut  off  her  lovely  long  hair  to-day.  It 
won't  be  very  comfortable  for  us  to  sleep  with  curl 
papers  all  over  our  heads,  but  we  must  do  it  now. 
I  wanted  my  new  dress  waist  which  Miss  Rosewarne 
is  making,  to  hook  up  in  front,  but  Grandmother 
said  I  would  have  to  wear  it  that  way  all  the  rest 
of  my  life  so  I  had  better  be  content  to  hook  it  in 
the  back  a  little  longer.  She  said  when  Aunt  Glo- 
rianna  was  married,  in  1848,  it  was  the  fashion  for 
grown  up  women  to  have  their  waists  fastened  in 
the  back,  so  the  bride  had  hers  made  that  way  but 
she  thought  it  was  a  very  foolish  and  inconvenient 
fashion.  It  is  nice,  though,  to  dress  in  style  and 
look  like  other  people.  I  have  a  Garibaldi  waist  and 
a  Zouave  jacket  and  a  balmoral  skirt. 

Sunday. — I  asked  Grandmother  if  I  could  write 
a  letter  to  Father  to-day,  and  she  said  I  could  begin 
it  and  tell  him  that  I  went  to  church  and  what  Mr. 
Daggett's  text  was  and  then  finish  it  to-morrow.  I 
did  so,  but  I  wish  I  could  do  it  all  after  I  began. 
She  said  a  verse  from  the  Tract  Primer: 


io8  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1859 

"  A  Sabbath  well  spent  brings  a  week  of  content 

And  strength  for  the  toil  of  to-morrow, 
But  a  Sabbath  profaned,  whatever  be  gained, 
Is  a  certain  forerunner  of  sorrow." 


Monday. — We  dressed  up  in  new  fangled  cos- 
tumes to-day  and  wore  them  to  school.  Some  of  us 
wore  dresses  almost  up  to  our  knees  and  some  wore 
them  trailing  on  the  ground.  Some  wore  their  hair 
twisted  in  knots  and  some  let  theirs  hang  down 
their  backs.  I  wore  my  new  waterfall  for  the  first 
time  and  Abbie  Clark  said  I  looked  like  "  Hagar  in 
the  Wilderness."  When  she  came  in  she  looked 
like  a  fashion  plate,  bedecked  with  bows  and  ribbons 
and  her  hair  up  in  a  new  way.  When  she  came 
in  the  door  she  stopped  and  said  solemnly :  "If 
you  have  tears  prepare  to  shed  them  now !  "  Laura 
Chapin  would  not  participate  in  the  fun,  for  once. 
She  said  she  thought  "  Beauty  unadorned  was  the 
dorndest."  We  did  not  have  our  lesson  in  mental 
philosophy  very  well  so  we  asked  Mr.  Richards  to 
explain  the  nature  of  dreams  and  their  cause  and 
effect.  He  gave  us  a  very  interesting  talk,  which 
occupied  the  whole  hour.  We  listened  with  breath- 
less attention,  so  he  must  have  marked  us  100. 

There  was  a  lecture  at  the  seminary  to-night  and 
Rev.  Dr.  Hibbard,  the  Methodist  minister,  who  lives 
next  door  above  the  Methodist  church,  came  home 
with  us.  Grandmother  was  very  much  pleased 
when  we  told  her. 


1859]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  109 

March  i. — Our  hired  man  has  started  a  hot  bed 
and  we  went  down  behind  the  barn  to  see  it. 
Grandfather  said  he  was  up  at  6  o'clock  and  walked 
up  as  far  as  Mr.  Greig's  lions  and  back  again  for 
exercise  before  breakfast.  He  seems  to  have  the 
bloom  of  youth  on  his  face  as  a  reward.  Anna  says 
she  saw  "  Bloom  of  youth  "  advertised  in  the  drug 
store  and  she  is  going  to  buy  some.  I  know  Grand- 
mother won't  let  her  for  it  would  be  like  "  taking 
coal  to  Newcastle." 

April. — Anna  wanted  me  to  help  her  write  a  com- 
position last  night,  and  we  decided  to  write  on  "  Old 
Journals,"  so  we  got  hers  and  mine  both  out  and 
made  selections  and  then  she  copied  them.  When 
we  were  on  our  way  to  school  this  morning  we  met 
Mr.  E.  M.  Morse  and  Anna  asked  him  if  he  did  not 
want  to  read  her  composition  that  Carrie  wrote  for 
her.  He  made  a  very  long  face  and  pretended  to 
be  much  shocked,  but  said  he  would  like  to  read 
it,  so  he  took  it  and  also  her  album,  which  she  asked 
him  to  write  in.  At  night,  on  his  way  home,  he 
stopped  at  our  door  and  left  them  both.  When  she 
looked  in  her  album,  she  found  this  was  what  he 
had  written: 

"  Anna,  when  you  have  grown  old  and  wear  specta- 
cles and  a  cap,  remember  the  boyish  young  man  who 
saw  your  fine  talents  in  1859  and  was  certain  you 
would  add  culture  to  nature  and  become  the  pride  of 
Canandaigua.  Do  not  forget  also  that  no  one  deserves 
praise  for  anything  done  by  others  and  that  your 


no  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1859 

progress  in  wisdom  and  goodness  will  be  watched  by 
no  one  more  anxiously  than  by  your  true  friend, 

E.  M.  MORSE." 

I  think  she  might  as  well  have  told  Mr.  Morse 
that  the  old  journals  were  as  much  hers  as  mine; 
but  I  think  she  likes  to  make  out  she  is  not  as  good 
as  she  is.  Sarah  Foster  helped  us  to  do  our  arith- 
metic examples  to-day.  She  is  splendid  in  mathe- 
matics. 

Much  to  our  surprise  Bridget  Flynn,  who  has 
lived  with  us  so  long,  is  married.  We  didn't  know 
she  thought  of  such  a  thing,  but  she  has  gone. 
Anna  and  I  have  learned  how  to  make  rice  and  corn- 
starch  puddings.  We  have  a  new  girl  in  Bridget's 
place  but  I  don't  think  she  will  do.  Grandmother 
asked  her  to-day  if  she  seasoned  the  gravy  and  she 
said,  either  she  did  or  she  didn't,  she  couldn't  tell 
which.  Grandfather  says  he  thinks  she  is  a  little 
lacking  in  the  "  upper  story." 

June. — A  lot  of  us  went  down  to  Sucker  Brook 
this  afternoon.  Abbie  Clark  was  one  and  she  told 
us  some  games  to  play  sitting  down  on  the  grass. 
We  played  "  Simon  says  thumbs  up  "  and  then  we 
pulled  the  leaves  off  from  daisies  and  said, 

"  Rich  man,  poor  man,  beggar  man,  thief, 
Doctor,  lawyer,  merchant,  chief," 

to  see  which  we  would  marry.     The  last  leaf  tells 
the  story.     Anna's  came  "  rich  man  "  every  time 


1859]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  in 

and  she  thinks  it  is  true  because  Eugene  Stone  has 
asked  to  marry  her  and  he  is  quite  well  off.  She  is 
13  and  he  is  17.  He  is  going  now  to  his  home  in 
St.  Paul,  Minn.,  but  he  is  coming  back  for  her  some 
day.  Tom  Eddy  is  going  to  be  groomsman  and 
Emma  Wheeler  bridesmaid.  They  have  all  the  ar- 
rangements made.  She  has  not  shown  any  of  Eu- 
gene Stone's  notes  to  Grandmother  yet  for  she  does 
not  think  it  is  worth  while.  Anna  broke  the  seal 
on  Tom  Eddy's  page  in  her  mystic  book,  although 
he  wrote  on  it,  "  Not  to  be  opened  until  December 
8,  1859."  He  says: 


"  DEAR  ANNA, — I  hope  that  in  a  few  years  I  will 
see  you  and  Stone  living  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi,  in  a  little  cottage,  as  snug  as  a  bug  in  a 
rug,  living  in  peace,  so  that  I  can  come  and  see  you 
and  have  a  good  time. — Yours, 

THOS.  C.  EDDY." 


Anna  says  if  she  does  marry  Eugene  Stone  and 
he  forgets,  after  two  or  three  years  to  be  as  polite 
to  her  as  he  is  now  she  shall  look  up  at  him  with  her 
sweetest  smile  and  say,  "  Miss  Anna,  won't  you 
have  a  little  more  sugar  in  your  tea  ?  "  When  I 
went  to  school  this  morning  Juliet  Ripley  asked, 
"  Where  do  you  think  Anna  Richards  is  now  ?  Up 
in  a  cherry  tree  in  Dr.  Cheney's  garden."  Anna 
loves  cherries.  We  could  see  her  from  the  chapel 
window. 


ii2  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1859 

June  7. — Alice  Jewett  took  Anna  all  through 
their  new  house  to-day  which  is  being  built  and 
then  they  went  over  to  Mr.  Noah  T.  Clarke's  partly 
finished  house  and  went  all  through  that.  A  dog 
came  out  of  Cat  Alley  and  barked  at  them  and 
scared  Anna  awfully.  She  said  she  almost  had  a 
conniption  fit  but  Emma  kept  hold  of  her.  She  is 
so  afraid  of  thunder  and  lightning  and  dogs. 

Old  Friend  Burling  brought  Grandfather  a  speci- 
men of  his  handwriting  to-day  to  keep.  It  is  beau- 
tifully written,  like  copper  plate.  This  is  the  verse 
he  wrote  and  Grandfather  gave  it  to  me  to  paste  in 
my  book  of  extracts: 

DIVINE  LOVE. 

Could  we  with  ink  the  ocean  fill, 

Was  the  whole  earth  of  parchment  made, 
Was  every  single  stick  a  quill, 

And  every  man  a  scribe  by  trade ; 
To  write  the  love  of  God  above 

Would  drain  the  ocean  dry ; 
Nor  could  that  scroll  contain  the  whole 

Though  stretched  from  sky  to  sky. 

Transcribed  by  William  S.  Burling,  Canandaigua, 
1859,  in  the  83rd  year  of  his  age. 

Sunday,  December  8,  1859. — Mr.  E.  M.  Morse  is 
our  Sunday  School  teacher  now  and  the  Sunday 
School  room  is  so  crowded  that  we  go  up  into  the 
church  for  our  class  recitation.  Abbie  Clark,  Fan- 


i859]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  113 

nie  Gay  lord  and  myself  are  the  only  scholars,  and 
he  calls  us  the  three  Christian  graces,  faith,  hope  and 
charity,  and  the  greatest  of  these  is  charity.  I  am 
the  tallest,  so  he  says  I  am  charity.  We  recite  in 
Mr.  Gibson's  pew,  because  it  is  farthest  away  and 
we  do  not  disturb  the  other  classes.  He  gave  us 
some  excellent  advice  to-day  as  to  what  was  right 
and  said  if  we  ever  had  any  doubts  about  anything 
we  should  never  do  it  and  should  always  be  perfectly 
sure  we  are  in  the  right  before  we  act.  He  gave  us 
two  weeks  ago  a  poem  to  learn  by  Samuel  Taylor 
Coleridge.  It  is  an  apostrophe  to  God  and  very 
hard  to  learn.  It  is  blank  verse  and  has  85  lines 
in  it.  I  have  it  committed  at  last  and  we  are  to 
recite  it  in  concert.  The  last  two  lines  are,  "  Tell 
thou  the  silent  sky  and  tell  the  stars  and  tell  yon 
rising  sun,  Earth  with  its  thousand  voices  praises 
God."  Mr.  Morse  delivered  a  lecture  in  Bemis  Hall 
last  Thursday  night.  The  subject  was,  "  You  and 
I."  It  was  splendid  and  he  lent  me  the  manuscript 
afterwards  to  read.  Dick  Valentine  lectured  in  the 
hall  the  other  night  too.  His  subject  was  "  Preju- 
dice." There  was  some  difference  in  the  lectures 
and  the  lecturers.  The  latter  was  more  highly  col- 
ored. 

Friday. — The  older  ladies  of  the  town  have 
formed  a  society  for  the  relief  of  the  poor  and  are 
going  to  have  a  course  of  lectures  in  Bemis  Hall 
under  their  auspices  to  raise  funds.  The  lecturers 


ii4  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1859 

are  to  be  from  the  village  and  are  to  be:     Rev.  O. 

E.  Daggett,  subject,  "  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  " ;  Dr. 
Harvey  Jewett,  "The  House  We  Live  In";  Prof. 

F.  E.  R.  Chubbuck,  "  Progress  ";  Hon.  H.  W.  Tay- 
lor,   "The    Empty    Place";    Prof.    E.    G.    Tyler, 
"  Finance  ";  Mr.  N.  T.  Clark,  "  Chemistry  ";  E.  M. 
Morse,  "  Graybeard  and  His  Dogmas."     The  young 
ladies  have  started  a  society,  too,  and  we  have  great 
fun  and  fine  suppers.     We  met  at  Jennie  Howell's 
to  organize.     We  are  to  meet  once  in  two  weeks  and 
are  to  present  each  member  with  an  album  bed  quilt 
with   all   our  names   on   when   they   are   married. 
Susie  Daggett  says  she  is  never  going  to  be  married, 
but  we  must  make  her  a  quilt  just  the  same.     Laura 
Chapin  sang,  "  Mary  Lindsey,  Dear,"  and  we  got 
to  laughing  so  that  Susie  Daggett  and  I  lost  our 
equilibrium  entirely,  but  I  found  mine  by  the  time 
I    got    home.     Yesterday    afternoon    Grandfather 
asked  us  if  we  did  not  want  to  go  to  ride  with  him 
in  the  big  two  seated  covered  carriage  which  he  does 
not  get  out  very  often.     We  said  yes,  and  he  stopped 
for  Miss  Hannah  Upham  and  took  her  with  us. 
She  sat  on  the  back  seat  with  me  and  we  rode  clear 
to  Farmington  and  kept  up  a  brisk  conversation  all 
the  way.     She  told  us  how  she  became  lady  princi- 
pal of  the  Ontario  Female  Seminary  in  1830.     She 
was  still  telling  us  about  it  when  we  got  back  home. 

December  23. — We  have  had  a  Christmas  tree 
and  many   other   attractions   in   Seminary   chapel. 


i859l       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  115 

The  day  scholars  and  townspeople  were  permitted  to 
participate  and  we  had  a  post  office  and  received  let- 
ters from  our  friends.  Mr.  E.  M.  Morse  wrote  me 
a  fictitious  one,  claiming  to  be  written  from  the 
north  pole  ten  years  hence.  I  will  copy  it  in  my 
journal  for  I  may  lose  the  letter.  I  had  some  gifts 
on  the  Christmas  tree  and  gave  some.  I  presented 
my  teacher,  Mr.  Chubbuck,  with  two  large  hem- 
stitched handkerchiefs  with  his  initials  embroidered 
in  a  corner  of  each.  As  he  is  favored  with  the 
euphonious  name  of  Frank  Emery  Robinson  Chub- 
buck  it  was  a  work  of  art  to  make  his  initials  look 
beautiful.  I  inclosed  a  stanza  in  rhyme: 

Amid  the  changing  scenes  of  life 

If  any  storm  should  rise, 
May  you  ever  have  a  handkerchief 

To  wipe  your  weeping  eyes. 

Here  is  Mr.  Morse's  letter: 

"  NORTH  POLE,  10  January  1869. 

"  Miss  CARRIE  RICHARDS, 

"  MY  DEAR  YOUNG  FRIEND. — It  is  very  cold  here 
and  the  pole  is  covered  with  ice.  I  climbed  it  yester- 
day to  take  an  observation  and  arrange  our  flag,  the 
Stars  and  Stripes,  which  I  hoisted  immediately  on  my 
arrival  here,  ten  years  ago.  I  thought  I  should  freeze 
and  the  pole  was  so  slippery  that  I  was  in  great 
danger  of  coming  down  faster  than  was  comfortable. 
Although  this  pole  has  been  used  for  more  than  6,000 
years  it  is  still  as  good  as  new.  The  works  of  the 
Great  Architect  do  not  wear  out.  It  is  now  ten  years 


n6  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1859 

since  I  have  seen  you  and  my  other  two  Christian 
Graces  and  I  have  no  doubt  of  your  present  position 
among  the  most  brilliant,  noble  and  excellent  women 
in  all  America.  I  always  knew  and  recognized  your 
great  abilities.  Nature  was  very  generous  to  you  all 
and  you  were  enjoying  fine  advantages  at  the  time 
I  last  knew  you.  I  thought  your  residence  with  your 
Grandparents  an  admirable  school  for  you,  and  you 
and  your  sister  were  most  evidently  the  best  joy  of 
their  old  age.  You  certainly  owe  much  to  them.  At 
the  time  that  I  left  my  three  Christian  Graces,  Mrs. 
Grundy  was  sometimes  malicious  enough  to  say  that 
they  were  injuring  themselves  by  flirting.  I  always 
told  the  old  lady  that  I  had  the  utmost  confidence  in 
the  judgment  and  discretion  of  my  pupils  and  that 
they  would  be  very  careful  and  prudent  in  all  their 
conduct.  I  confessed  that  flirting  was  wrong  and 
very  injurious  to  any  one  who  was  guilty  of  it,  but 
I  was  very  sure  that  you  were  not.  I  could  not  believe 
that  you  would  disappoint  us  all  and  become  only 
ordinary  women,  but  that  you  would  become  the  most 
exalted  characters,  scorning  all  things  unworthy  of 
ladies  and  Christians  and  I  was  right  and  Mrs.  Grundy 
was  wrong.  When  the  ice  around  the  pole  thaws  out 
I  shall  make  a  flying  visit  to  Canandaigua.  I  send 
you  a  tame  polar  bear  for  a  playfellow.  This  letter 
will  be  conveyed  to  you  by  Esquimaux  express. — 
Most  truly  yours,  E.  M.  MORSE." 


I  think  some  one  must  have  shown  some  verses 
that  we  girls  wrote,  to  Mrs.  Grundy  and  made  her 
think  that  our  minds  were  more  upon  the  young 
men  than  they  were  upon  our  studies,  but  if  people 
knew  how  much  time  we  spent  on  Paley's  "  Evi- 


1859]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  117 

dences  of  Christianity  "  and  Butler's  Analogy  and 
Kames'  Elements  of  Criticism  and  Tytler's  Ancient 
History  and  Olmstead's  Mathematical  Astronomy 
and  our  French  and  Latin  and  arithmetic  and  alge- 
bra and  geometry  and  trigonometry  and  bookkeep- 
ing, they  would  know  we  had  very  little  time  to 
think  of  the  masculine  gender. 


i860 

New  Year's  Day. — We  felt  quite  grown  up  to-day 
and  not  a  little  scared  when  we  saw  Mr.  Morse  and 
Mr.  Wells  and  Mr.  Mason  and  Mr.  Chubbuck  all 
coming  in  together  to  make  a  New  Year's  call. 
They  made  a  tour  of  the  town.  We  did  not  feel 
so  frustrated  when  Will  Schley  and  Horace  Finley 
came  in  later.  Mr.  Oliver  Phelps,  Jr.,  came  to  call 
upon  Grandmother.  Grandfather  made  a  few  calls, 
too. 

January  5. — Abbie  Clark  and  I  went  up  to  see 
Miss  Emma  Morse  because  it  is  her  birthday.  We 
call  her  sweet  Miss  Emma  and  we  think  Mr.  Man- 
ning Wells  does,  too.  We  went  to  William  Wirt 
Howe's  lecture  in  Bemis  Hall  this  evening.  He  is 
a  very  smart  young  man. 

Anna  wanted  to  walk  down  a  little  ways  with  the 
girls  after  school  so  she  crouched  down  between 
Helen  Coy  and  Hattie  Paddock  and  walked  past  the 
house.  Grandmother  always  sits  in  the  front  win- 
dow, so  when  Anna  came  in  she  asked  her  if  she 
had  to  stay  after  school  and  Anna  gave  her  an 
evasive  answer.  It  reminds  me  of  a  story  I  read, 
of  a  lady  who  told  the  servant  girl  if  any  one  called 
to  give  an  evasive  answer  as  she  did  not  wish  to 

118 


i86o]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  119 

receive  calls  that  day.  By  and  by  the  door  bell 
rang  and  the  servant  went  to  the  door.  When  she 
came  back  the  lady  asked  her  how  she  dismissed  the 
visitor.  She  said,  "  Shure  ye  towld  me  to  give  an 
evasive  answer,  so  when  the  man  asked  if  the  lady 
of  the  house  was  at  home  I  said,  '  Faith !  is  your 
grandmother  a  monkey ! '  We  never  say  anything 
like  that  to  our  "  dear  little  lady,"  but  we  just  change 
the  subject  and  divert  the  conversation  into  a  more 
agreeable  channel.  To-day  some  one  came  to  see 
Grandmother  when  we  were  gone  and  told  her  that 
Anna  and  some  others  ran  away  from  school. 
Grandmother  told  Anna  she  hoped  she  would  never 
let  any  one  bring  her  such  a  report  again.  Anna 
said  she  would  not,  if  she  could  possibly  help  it! 
I  wonder  who  it  was.  Some  one  who  believes  in 
the  text,  "  Look  not  every  man  on  his  own  things, 
but  every  man  also  on  the  things  of  others." 
Grandfather  told  us  to-night  that  we  ought  to  be 
very  careful  what  we  do  as  we  are  making  history 
every  day.  Anna  says  she  shall  try  not  to  have  hers 
as  dry  as  some  that  she  had  to  learn  at  school  to-day. 

February  9. — Dear  Miss  Mary  Howell  was  mar- 
ried to-day  to  Mr.  Worthington,  of  Cincinnati. 

February  28. — Grandfather  asked  me  to  read 
Abraham  Lincoln's  speech  aloud  which  he  delivered 
in  Cooper  Institute,  New  York,  last  evening,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Republican  Club.  He  was 


120  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        ti86o 

escorted  to  the  platform  by  David  Dudley  Field  and 
introduced  by  William  Cullen  Bryant.  The  New 
York  Times  called  him  "  a  noted  political  exhorter 
and  Prairie  orator."  It  was  a  thrilling  talk  and 
must  have  stirred  men's  souls. 

April  i. — Aunt  Ann  was  over  to  see  us  yesterday 
and  she  said  she  made  a  visit  the  day  before  out  at 
Mrs.  William  Gorham's.  Mrs.  Phelps  and  Miss 
Eliza  Chapin  also  went  and  they  enjoyed  talking 
over  old  times  when  they  were  young.  Maggie 
Gorham  is  going  to  be  married  on  the  25th  to  Mr. 
Benedict  of  New  York.  She  always  said  she  would 
not  marry  a  farmer  and  would  not  live  in  a  cobble- 
stone house  and  now  she  is  going  to  do  both,  for 
Mr.  Benedict  has  bought  the  farm  near  theirs  and 
it  has  a  cobblestone  house.  We  have  always 
thought  her  one  of  the  jolliest  and  prettiest  of  the 
older  set  of  young  ladies. 

June. — James  writes  that  he  has  seen  the  Prince 
of  Wales  in  New  York.  He  was  up  on  the  roof  of 
the  Continental  Fire  Insurance  building,  out  on  the 
cornice,  and  looked  down  on  the  procession.  After- 
wards there  was  a  reception  for  the  Prince  at  the 
University  Law  School  and  James  saw  him  close  by. 
He  says  he  has  a  very  pleasant  youthful  face. 
There  was  a  ball  given  for  him  one  evening  in  the 
Academy  of  Music  and  there  were  3,000  present. 
The  ladies  who  danced  with  him  will  never  forget 


i860]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  121 

it.  They  say  that  he  enters  into  every  diversion 
which  is  offered  to  him  with  the  greatest  tact  and 
good  nature,  and  when  he  visited  Mount  Vernon  he 
showed  great  reverence  for  the  memory  of  George 
Washington.  He  attended  a  literary  entertainment 
in  Boston,  where  Longfellow,  Holmes,  Emerson, 
Thoreau,  and  other  Americans  of  distinction  were 
presented  to  him.  He  will  always  be  a  favorite  in 
America. 

June. — Mrs.  Annie  Granger  asked  Anna  and  me 
to  come  over  to  her  house  and  see  her  baby.  We 
were  very  eager  to  go  and  wanted  to  hold  it  and 
carry  it  around  the  room.  She  was  willing  but 
asked  us  if  we  had  any  pins  on  us  anywhere.  She 
said  she  had  the  nurse  sew  the  baby's  clothes  on 
every  morning  so  that  if  she  cried  she  would  know 
whether  it  was  pains  or  pins.  We  said  we  had  no 
pins  on  us,  so  we  stayed  quite  a  while  and  held  little 
Miss  Hattie  to  our  heart's  content.  She  is  named 
for  her  aunt,  Hattie  Granger.  Anna  says  she  thinks 
Miss  Martha  Morse  will  give  medals  to  her  and 
Mary  Daggett  for  being  the  most  meddlesome  girls 
in  school,  judging  from  the  number  of  times  she 
has  spoken  to  them  to-day.  Anna  is  getting  to  be  a 
regular  punster,  although  I  told  her  that  Blair's 
Rhetoric  says  that  punning  is  not  the  highest  kind 
of  wit.  Mr.  Morse  met  us  coming  from  school  in 
the  rain  and  said  it  would  not  hurt  us  as  we  were 
neither  sugar  nor  salt.  Anna  said,  "  No,  but  we 


122  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1860 

are  'lasses."  Grandmother  has  been  giving  us  sul- 
phur and  molasses  for  the  purification  of  the  blood 
and  we  have  to  take  it  three  mornings  and  then  skip 
three  mornings.  This  morning  Anna  commenced 
going  through  some  sort  of  gymnastics  and  Grand- 
mother asked  her  what  she  was  doing,  and  she  said 
it  was  her  first  morning  to  skip. 

Abbie  Clark  had  a  large  tea-party  this  afternoon 
and  evening — Seminary  girls  and  a  few  Academy 
boys.  We  had  a  fine  supper  and  then  played  games. 
Abbie  gave  us  one  which  is  a  test  of  memory  and  we 
tried  to  learn  it  from  her  but  she  was  the  only  one 
who  could  complete  it.  I  can  write  it  down,  but 
not  say  it : 

A  good  fat  hen. 

Two  ducks  and  a  good  fat  hen. 

Three  plump  partridges,  two  ducks  and  a  good 
fat  hen. 

Four  squawking  wild  geese,  three  plump  par- 
tridges, etc. 

Five  hundred  Limerick  oysters. 

Six  pairs  of  Don  Alfonso's  tweezers. 

Seven  hundred  rank  and  file  Macedonian  horse- 
men drawn  up  in  line  of  battle. 

Eight  cages  of  heliogabalus  sparrow  kites. 

Nine  sympathetical,  epithetical,  categorical  propo- 
sitions. 

Ten  tentapherical  tubes. 

Eleven  flat  bottom  fly  boats  sailing  between  Mada- 
gascar and  Mount  Palermo. 


1860]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  123 

Twelve  European  dancing  masters,  sent  to  teach 
the  Egyptian  mummies  how  to  dance,  against  Her- 
cules' wedding  day. 

Abbie  says  it  was  easier  to  learn  than  the  multi- 
plication table.  They  wanted  some  of  us  to  recite 
and  Abbie  Clark  gave  us  Lowell's  poem,  "  John  P. 
Robinson,  he,  says  the  world'll  go  right  if  he  only 
says  Gee!"  I  gave  another  of  Lowell's  poems, 
'  The  Courtin'."  Julia  Phelps  had  her  guitar  with 
her  by  request  and  played  and  sang  for  us  very 
sweetly.  Fred  Harrington  went  home  with  her  and 
Theodore  Barnum  with  me. 

Sunday. — Frankie  Richardson  asked  me  to  go 
with  her  to  teach  a  class  in  the  colored  Sunday 
School  on  Chapel  Street  this  afternoon.  I  asked 
Grandmother  if  I  could  go  and  she  said  she  never 
noticed  that  I  was  particularly  interested  in  the  col- 
ored race  and  she  said  she  thought  I  only  wanted  an 
excuse  to  get  out  for  a  walk  Sunday  afternoon. 
However,  she  said  I  could  go  just  this  once.  When 
we  got  up  as  far  as  the  Academy,  Mr.  Noah  T. 
Clarke's  brother,  who  is  one  of  the  teachers,  came 
out  and  Frank  said  he  led  the  singing  at  the  Sunday 
School  and  she  said  she  would  give  me  an  introduc- 
tion to  him,  so  he  walked  up  with  us  and  home 
again.  Grandmother  said  that  when  she  saw  him 
opening  the  gate  for  me,  she  understood  my  zeal  in 
missionary  work.  "  The  dear  little  lady,"  as  we 
often  call  her,  has  always  been  noted  for  her  keen 


124  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1860 

discernment  and  wonderful  sagacity  and  loses  none 
of  it  as  she  advances  in  years.  Some  one  asked 
Anna  the  other  day  if  her  Grandmother  retained 
all  her  faculties  and  Anna  said,  "  Yes,  indeed,  to  an 
alarming  degree."  Grandmother  knows  that  we 
think  she  is  a  perfect  angel  even  if  she  does  seem 
rather  strict  sometimes.  Whether  we  are  7  or 
17  we  are  children  to  her  just  the  same,  and  the 
Bible  says,  "  Children  obey  your  parents  in  the 
Lord  for  this  is  right."  We  are  glad  that  we  never 
will  seem  old  to  her.  I  had  the  same  company  home 
from  church  in  the  evening.  His  home  is  in 
Naples. 

Monday. — This  morning  the  cook  went  to  early 
mass  and  Anna  told  Grandmother  she  would  bake 
the  pancakes  for  breakfast  if  she  would  let  her  put 
on  gloves.  She  would  not  let  her,  so  Hannah  baked 
the  cakes.  I  was  invited  to  Mary  Paul's  to  supper 
to-night  and  drank  the  first  cup  of  tea  I  ever  drank 
in  my  life.  I  had  a  very  nice  time  and  Johnnie  Paul 
came  home  with  me. 

Imogen  Power  and  I  went  down  together  Friday 
afternoon  to  buy  me  a  Meteorology.  We  are  study- 
ing that  and  Watts  on  the  Mind,  instead  of 
Philosophy. 

Tuesday. — I  went  with  Fanny  Gaylord  to  see 
Mrs.  Callister  at  the  hotel  to-night.  She  is  so  in- 


The  Old  Canandaigua  Academy 


i860]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  125 

terested  in  all  that  we  tell  her,  just  like  "  one  of  the 
girls." 

I  was  laughing  to-day  when  I  came  in  from  the 
street  and  Grandmother  asked  me  what  amused  me 
so.  I  told  her  that  I  met  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Putnam 
on  the  street  and  she  looked  so  immense  and  he  so 
minute  I  couldn't  help  laughing  at  the  contrast. 
Grandmother  said  that  size  was  not  everything,  and 
then  she  quoted  Cowper's  verse : 

"  Were  I  so  tall  to  reach  the  skies  or  grasp  the  ocean 

in  a  span, 

I  must  be  measured  by  my  soul,  the  mind  is  the 
stature  of  the  man." 

I  don't  believe  that  helps  Mr.  Putnam  out. 

Friday. — We  went  to  Monthly  Concert  of  prayer 
for  Foreign  Missions  this  evening.  I  told  Grand- 
mother that  I  thought  it  was  not  very  interesting. 
Judge  Taylor  read  the  Missionary  Herald  about  the 
Madagascans  and  the  Senegambians  and  the  Terra 
del  Fuegans  and  then  Deacon  Tyler  prayed  and  they 
sang  "  From  Greenland's  Icy  Mountains  "  and  took 
up  a  collection  and  went  home.  She  said  she  was 
afraid  I  did  not  listen  attentively.  I  don't  think 
"I  did  strain  every  nerve.  I  believe  Grandmother 
will  give  her  last  cent  to  Missions  if  the  Boards  get 
into  worse  straits  than  they  are  now. 

In  Latin  class  to-day  Anna  translated  the  phrase 
Deo  Volente  "  with  violence,"  and  Mr.  Tyler,  who 


126  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1860 

always  enjoys  a  joke,  laughed  so,  we  thought  he 
would  fall  out  of  his  chair.  He  evidently  thought 
it  was  the  best  one  he  had  heard  lately. 

November  21. — Aunt  Ann  gave  me  a  sewing  bird 
to  screw  on  to  the  table  to  hold  my  work  instead  of 
pinning  it  to  my  knee.  Grandmother  tells  us  when 
we  sew  or  read  not  to  get  everything  around  us  that 
we  will  want  for  the  next  two  hours  because  it  is 
not  healthy  to  sit  in  one  position  so  long.  She 
wants  us  to  get  up  and  "  stir  around."  Anna  does 
not  need  this  advice  as  much  as  I  do  for  she  is 
always  on  what  Miss  Achert  calls  the  "  qui  vive."  I 
am  trying  to  make  a  sofa  pillow  out  of  little  pieces 
of  silk.  Aunt  Ann  taught  me  how.  You  have 
to  cut  pieces  of  paper  into  octagonal  shape  and 
cover  them  with  silk  and  then  sew  them  together, 
over  and  over.  They  are  beautiful,  with  bright 
colors,  when  they  are  done.  There  was  a  hop  at 
the  hotel  last  night  and  some  of  the  girls  went  and 
had  an  elegant  time.  Mr.  Hiram  Metcalf  came  here 
this  morning  to  have  Grandmother  sign  some  papers. 
He  always  looks  very  dignified,  and  Anna  and  I  call 
him  "  the  deed  man."  We  tried  to  hear  what  he 
said  to  Grandmother  after  she  signed  her  name 
but  we  only  heard  something  about  "  fear  or  com- 
pulsion "  and  Grandmother  said  "  yes."  It  seems 
very  mysterious.  Grandfather  took  us  down  street 
to-day  to  see  the  new  Star  Building.  It  was  the 
town  house  and  he  bought  it  and  got  Mr.  Warren 


i86o]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  127 

Stoddard  of  Hopewell  to  superintend  cutting  it  in 
two  and  moving  the  parts  separately  to  Coach 
Street.  When  it  was  completed  the  shout  went  up 
from  the  crowd,  "  Hurrah  for  Thomas  Beals,  the 
preserver  of  the  old  Court  House."  No  one  but 
Grandfather  thought  it  could  be  done. 

December. — I  went  with  the  girls  to  the  lake  to 
skate  this  afternoon.  Mr.  Johnson,  the  colored 
barber,  is  the  best  skater  in  town.  He  can  skate 
forwards  and  backwards  and  cut  all  sorts  of  curli- 
cues, although  he  is  such  a  heavy  man.  He  is  going 
to  Liberia  and  there  his  skates  won't  do  him  any 
good.  I  wish  he  would  give  them  to  me  and  also 
his  skill  to  use  them.  Some  one  asked  me  to  sit 
down  after  I  got  home  and  I  said  I  preferred  to 
stand,  as  I  had  been  sitting  down  all  the  afternoon ! 
Gus  Coleman  took  a  load  of  us  sleighriding  this 
evening.  Of  course  he  had  Clara  Willson  sit  on  the 
front  seat  with  him  and  help  him  drive. 

Thursday. — We  had  a  special  meeting  of  our 
society  this  evening  at  Mary  Wheeler's  and  invited 
the  gentlemen  and  had  charades  and  general  good 
time.  Mr.  Gillette  and  Horace  Finley  made  a  great 
deal  of  fun  for  us.  We  initiated  Mr.  Gillette  into 
the  Dorcas  Society,  which  consists  in  seating  the 
candidate  in  a  chair  and  propounding  some  very 
solemn  questions  and  then  in  token  of  desire  to  join 
the  society,  you  ask  him  to  open  his  mouth  very  wide 


128          VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1860 

for  a  piece  of  cake  which  you  swallow,  yourself, 
instead!  Very  disappointing  to  the  new  member! 
We  went  to  a  concert  at  the  Seminary  this  even- 
ing. Miss  Mollie  Bull  sang  "  Coming  Through  the 
Rye  "  and  Miss  Lizzie  Bull  sang  "  Annie  Laurie  " 
and  "  Auld  Lang  Syne."  Jennie  Lind,  herself, 
could  not  have  done  better. 

December  15. — Alice  Jewett,  Emma  Wheeler  and 
Anna  are  in  Mrs.  Worthington's  Sunday  School 
class  and  as  they  have  recently  united  with  the 
church,  she  thought  they  should  begin  practical 
Christian  work  by  distributing  tracts  among  the 
neglected  classes.  So  this  afternoon  they  ran  away 
from  school  to  begin  the  good  work.  It  was  so 
bright  and  pleasant,  they  thought  a  walk  to  the  lake 
would  be  enjoyable  and  they  could  find  a  welcome  in 
some  humble  home.  The  girls  wanted  Anna  to  be 
the  leader,  but  she  would  only  promise  that  if  some- 
thing pious  came  into  her  mind,  she  would  say  it. 
They  knocked  at  a  door  and  were  met  by  a  smiling 
mother  of  twelve  children  and  asked  to  come  in. 
They  sat  down  feeling  somewhat  embarrassed,  but 
spying  a  photograph  album  on  the  table,  they  be- 
came much  interested,  while  the  children  explained 
the  pictures.  Finally  Anna  felt  that  it  was  time 
to  do  something,  so  when  no  one  was  looking,  she 
slipped  under  one  of  the  books  on  the  table,  three 
tracts  entitled  "  Consolation  for  the  Bereaved," 
"  Systematic  Benevolence  "  and  "  The  Social  Evils 


1860]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  129 

of  dancing,  card  playing  and  theater-going."  Then 
they  said  goodbye  to  their  new  friends  and  started 
on.  They  decided  not  to  do  any  more  pastoral 
work  until  another  day,  but  enjoyed  the  outing  very 
much. 

Christmas. — We  all  went  to  Aunt  Mary  Carr's 
to  dinner  excepting  Grandmother,  and  in  the  evening 
we  went  to  see  some  tableaux  at  Dr.  Cook's  and  Dr. 
Chapin's  at  the  asylum.  We  were  very  much 
pleased  with  the  entertainment.  Between  the  acts 
Mr.  del  Pratt,  one  of  the  patients,  said  every  time, 
"  What  next !  "  which  made  every  one  laugh. 

Grandfather  was  requested  to  add  his  picture  to 
the  gallery  of  portraits  of  eminent  men  for  the 
Court  Room,  so  he  has  had  it  painted.  An  artist 
by  the  name  of  Green,  who  lives  in  town,  has  fin- 
ished it  after  numerous  sittings  and  brought  it  up 
for  our  approval.  We  like  it  but  we  do  not  think 
it  is  as  good  looking  as  he  is.  No  one  could  really 
satisfy  us  probably,  so  we  may  as  well  try  to  be 
suited. 

I  asked  Grandmother  if  Mr.  Clarke  could  take 
Sunday  night  supper  with  us  and  she  said  she  was 
afraid  he  did  not  know  the  catechism.  I  asked  him 
Friday  night  and  he  said  he  would  learn  it  on  Satur- 
day so  that  he  could  answer  every  third  question  any 
way.  So  he  did  and  got  along  very  well.  I  think 
he  deserved  a  pretty  good  supper. 


i86i 

March  4,  1861. — President  Lincoln  was  inau- 
gurated to-day. 

March  5. — I  read  the  inaugural  address  aloud  to 
Grandfather  this  evening.  He  dwelt  with  such 
pathos  upon  the  duty  that  all,  both  North  and  South, 
owe  to  the  Union,  it  does  not  seem  as  though  there 
could  be  war! 

April. — We  seem  to  have  come  to  a  sad,  sad  time. 
The  Bible  says,  "  A  man's  worst  foes  are  those  of 
his  own  household."  The  whole  United  States  has 
been  like  one  great  household  for  many  years. 
"  United  we  stand,  divided  we  fall !  "  has  been  our 
watchword,  but  some  who  should  have  been  its  best 
friends  have  proven  false  and  broken  the  bond. 
Men  are  taking  sides,  some  for  the  North,  some  for 
the  South.  Hot  words  and  fierce  looks  have  fol- 
lowed, and  there  has  been  a  storm  in  the  air  for  a 
long  time. 

April  15. — The  storm  has  broken  upon  us.  The 
Confederates  fired  on  Fort  Sumter,  just  off  the 
coast  of  South  Carolina,  and  forced  her  on  April 
14  to  haul  down  the  flag  and  surrender.  President 

130 


1861]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  131 

Lincoln  has  issued  a  call  for  75,000  men  and  many 
are  volunteering  to  go  all  around  us.  How  strange 
and  awful  it  seems. 

May,  1 86 1. — Many  of  the  young  men  are  going 
from  Canandaigua  and  all  the  neighboring  towns. 
It  seems  very  patriotic  and  grand  when  they  are 
singing,  "  It  is  sweet,  Oh,  'tis  sweet,  for  one's  coun- 
try to  die,"  and  we  hear  the  martial  music  and  see 
the  flags  flying  and  see  the  recruiting  tents  on  the 
square  and  meet  men  in  uniform  at  every  turn  and 
see  train  loads  of  the  boys  in  blue  going  to  the  front, 
but  it  will  not  seem  so  grand  if  we  hear  they  are  dead 
on  the  battlefield,  far  from  home.  A  lot  of  us  girls 
went  down  to  the  train  and  took  flowers  to  the  sol- 
diers as  they  were  passing  through  and  they  cut 
buttons  from  their  coats  and  gave  to  us  as  souvenirs. 
We  have  flags  on  our  paper  and  envelopes,  and  have 
all  our  stationery  bordered  with  red,  white  and  blue. 
We  wear  little  flag  pins  for  badges  and  tie  our  hair 
with  red,  white  and  blue  ribbon  and  have  pins  and 
earrings  made  of  the  buttons  the  soldiers  gave  us. 
We  are  going  to  sew  for  them  in  our  society  and 
get  the  garments  all  cut  from  the  older  ladies' 
society.  They  work  every  day  in  one  of  the  rooms 
of  the  court  house  and  cut  out  garments  and  make 
them  and  scrape  lint  and  roll  up  bandages.  They 
say  they  will  provide  us  with  all  the  garments  we 
will  make.  We  are  going  to  write  notes  and  enclose 
them  in  the  garments  to  cheer  up  the  soldier  boys. 


132  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1861 

It  does  not  seem  now  as  though  I  could  give  up  any 
one  who  belonged  to  me.  The  girls  in  our  society 
say  that  if  any  of  the  members  do  send  a  soldier  to 
the  war  they  shall  have  a  flag  bed  quilt,  made  by  the 
society,  and  have  the  girls'  names  on  the  stars. 

May  20. — I  recited  "  Scott  and  the  Veteran  "  to- 
day at  school,  and  Mary  Field  recited,  "  To  Drum 
Beat  and  Heart  Beat  a  Soldier  Marches  By  " ;  Anna 
recited  "  The  Virginia  Mother."  Every  one  learns 
war  poems  now-a-days.  There  was  a  patriotic 
rally  in  Bemis  Hall  last  night  and  a  quartette  sang, 
"  The  Sword  of  Bunker  Hill  "  and  "  Dixie  "  and 
"  John  Brown's  Body  Lies  a  Mouldering  in  the 
Grave,"  and  many  other  patriotic  songs.  We  have 
one  West  Point  cadet,  Albert  M.  Murray,  who  is 
in  the  thick  of  the  fight,  and  Charles  S.  Coy  repre- 
sents Canandaigua  in  the  navy. 

June,  1 86 1. — At  the  anniversary  exercises,  Rev. 
Samuel  M.  Hopkins  of  Auburn  gave  the  address.  I 
have  graduated  from  Ontario  Female  Seminary 
after  a  five  years  course  and  had  the  honor  of  re- 
ceiving a  diploma  from  the  courtly  hands  of  Gen- 
eral John  A.  Granger.  I  am  going  to  have  it 
framed  and  handed  down  to  my  grandchildren  as  a 
memento,  not  exactly  of  sleepless  nights  and  mid- 
night vigils,  but  of  rising  betimes,  at  what  Anna 
calls  the  crack  of  dawn.  She  likes  that  expression 
better  than  daybreak.  I  heard  her  reciting  in  the 


fe 

o 


i86i]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  133 

back  chamber  one  morning  about  4  o'clock  and  lis- 
tened at  the  door.  She  was  saying  in  the  most 
nonchalant  manner :  "  Science  and  literature  in 
England  were  fast  losing  all  traces  of  originality, 
invention  was  discouraged,  research  unvalued  and 
the  examination  of  nature  proscribed.  It  seemed  to 
be  generally  supposed  that  the  treasure  accumulated 
in  the  preceding  ages  was  quite  sufficient  for  all 
national  purposes  and  that  the  only  duty  which 
authors  had  to  perform  was  to  reproduce  what  had 
thus  been  accumulated,  adorned  with  all  the  graces 
of  polished  style.  Tameness  and  monotony  nat- 
urally result  from  a  slavish  adherence  to  all  arbi- 
trary rules  and  every  branch  of  literature  felt  this 
blighting  influence.  History,  perhaps,  was  in  some 
degree  an  exception,  for  Hume,  Robertson  and  more 
especially  Gibbon,  exhibited  a  spirit  of  original  in- 
vestigation which  found  no  parallel  among  their 
contemporaries."  I  looked  in  and  asked  her  where 
her  book  was,  and  she  said  she  left  it  down  stairs. 
She  has  "  got  it  "  all  right,  I  am  sure.  We  helped 
decorate  the  seminary  chapel  for  two  days.  Our 
motto  was,  "  Still  achieving,  still  pursuing."  Miss 
Guernsey  made  most  of  the  letters  and  Mr.  Chub- 
buck  put  them  up  and  he  hung  all  the  paintings.  It 
was  a  very  warm  week.  General  Granger  had  to 
use  his  palm  leaf  fan  all  the  time,  as  well  as  the 
rest  of  us.  There  were  six  in  our  class,  Mary  Field, 
Lucy  Petherick,  Kate  Lilly,  Sarah  Clay,  Abby  Scott 
and  myself.  Abbie  Clark  would  have  been  in  the 


134  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1861 

class,  but  she  went  to  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  instead. 
General  Granger  said  to  each  one  of  us,  "  It  gives  me 
great  pleasure  to  present  you  with  this  diploma," 
and  when  he  gave  Miss  Scott  hers,  as  she  is  from 
Alabama,  he  said  he  wished  it  might  be  as  a  flag  of 
truce  between  the  North  and  the  South,  and  this 
sentiment  was  loudly  cheered.  General  Granger 
looked  so  handsome  with  his  black  dress  suit  and 
ruffled  shirt  front  and  all  the  natural  grace  which 
belongs  to  him.  The  sheepskin  has  a  picture  of  the 
Seminary  on  it  and  this  inscription :  "  The  Trus- 
tees and  Faculty  of  the  Ontario  Female  Seminary 

hereby  certify  that  -  has  completed  the 

course  of  study  prescribed  in  this  Institution,  main- 
tained the  requisite  scholarship  and  commendable 
deportment  and  is  therefore  admitted  to  the  gradu- 
ating honors  of  this  Institution.  President  of 
Board,  John  A.  Granger;  Benjamin  F.  Richards, 
Edward  G.  Tyler,  Principals."  Mr.  Morse  wrote 
something  for  the  paper: 


"  To  the  Editor  of  the  Repository : 

"  DEAR  SIR — June  roses,  etc.,  make  our  loveliest  of 
villages  a  paradise  this  week.  The  constellations  are 
all  glorious  and  the  stars  of  earth  far  outshine  those 
of  the  heavens.  The  lake  shore,  '  Lovers'  Lane,' 
'  Glen  Kitty  '  and  the  '  Points  '  are  full  of  romance  and 
romancers.  The  yellow  moon  and  the  blue  waters 
and  the  dark  green  shores  and  the  petrified  Indians, 
whispering  stony  words  at  the  foot  of  Genundewah, 
and  Squaw  Island  sitting  on  the  waves,  like  an  en- 


i86i]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  135 

chanted  grove,  and  '  Whalesback '  all  humped  up  in 
the  East  and  '  Devil's  Lookout '  rising  over  all,  made 
the  '  Sleeping  Beauty '  a  silver  sea  of  witchery  and 
love;  and  in  the  cottages  and  palaces  we  ate  the 
ambrosia  and  drank  the  nectar  of  the  sweet  goddesses 
of  this  new  and  golden  age. 

"  I  may  as  well  say  to  you,  Mr.  Editor,  that  the 
Ontario  Female  Seminary  closed  yesterday  and 
'  Yours  truly  '  was  present  at  the  commencement.  Be- 
ing a  bachelor  I  shall  plead  guilty  and  appeal  to  the 
mercy  of  the  Court,  if  indicted  for  undue  prejudice 
in  favor  of  the  charming  young  orators.  After  the 
report  of  the  Examining  Committee,  in  which  the 
scholarship  of  the  young  ladies  was  not  too  highly 
praised,  came  the  Latin  Salutatory  by  Miss  Clay,  a 
most  beautiful  and  elegant  production  (that  sentence, 
sir,  applies  to  both  salutatory  and  salutatorian).  The 
'  Shadows  We  Cast/  by  Miss  Field,  carried  us  far  into 
the  beautiful  fields  of  nature  and  art  and  we  saw 
the  dark,  or  the  brilliant  shades,  which  our  lives  will 
cast,  upon  society  and  history.  Then  '  Tongues  in 
Trees '  began  to  whisper  most  bewitchingly,  and 
'  Books  in  the  Running  Brooks '  were  opened,  and 
'  Sermons  in  Stones '  were  preached  by  Miss  Richards, 
and  this  old  bachelor  thought  if  all  trees  would  talk 
so  well,  and  every  brook  would  babble  so  musically, 
and  each  precious  stone  would  exhort  so  brilliantly, 
as  they  were  made  to  do  by  the  '  enchantress/  angels 
and  dreams  would  henceforth  be  of  little  consequence ; 
and  whether  the  orator  should  be  called  '  Tree  of 
Beauty/  '  Minnehaha  '  or  the  '  Kohinoor  '  is  a  '  vexata 
questio.' 

"  In  the  evening  Mr.  Hardick,  '  our  own/  whose 
hand  never  touches  the  piano  without  making 
delicious  music,  and  Misses  Daggett  and  Wilson,  also 


136  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1861 

'  our  own/  and  the  musical  pupils  of  the  Institution, 
gave  a  concert.  '  The  Young  Volunteer  '  was  impera- 
tively demanded,  and  this  for  the  third  time  during  the 
anniversary  exercises,  and  was  sung  amid  thunders 
of  applause,  '  Star  of  the  South,'  Miss  Stella  Scott, 
shining  meanwhile  in  all  her  radiant  beauty.  May  her 
glorious  light  soon  rest  on  a  Union  that  shall  never 
more  be  broken. — Soberly  yours, 

A  VERY  OLD  BACHELOR." 


June,  1 86 1. — There  was  a  patriotic  rally  this 
afternoon  on  the  campus  of  Canandaigua  Academy 
and  we  Seminary  girls  went.  They  raised  a  flag 
on  the  Academy  building.  General  Granger  pre- 
sided, Dr.  Coleman  led  the  choir  and  they  sang 
"The  Star  Spangled  Banner."  Mr.  Noah  T. 
Clarke  made  a  stirring  speech  and  Mr.  Gideon 
Granger,  James  C.  Smith  and  E.  M.  Morse  fol- 
lowed. Canandaigua  has  already  raised  over 
$7,000  for  the  war.  Capt.  Barry  drills  the  Acad- 
emy boys  in  military  tactics  on  the  campus  every 
day.  Men  are  constantly  enlisting.  Lester  P. 
Thompson,  son  of  "  Father  Thompson,"  among  the 
others. 

A  young  man  asked  Anna  to  take  a  drive  to-day, 
but  Grandmother  was  not  willing  at  first  to  let  her 
go.  She  finally  gave  her  consent,  after  Anna's  plea 
that  he  was  so  young  and  his  horse  was  so  gentle. 
Just  as  they  were  ready  to  start,  I  heard  Anna  run 
upstairs  and  I  heard  him  say,  "  What  an  Anna !  " 
I  asked  her  afterwards  what  she  went  for  and  she 


i86i]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  137 

said  she  remembered  that  she  had  left  the  soap  in 
the  water. 

June. — Dr.  Daggett's  war  sermon  from  the  I46th 
Psalm  was  wonderful. 

December  i. — Dr.  Carr  is  dead.  He  had  a  stroke 
of  paralysis  two  weeks  ago  and  for  several  days  he 
has  been  unconscious.  The  choir  of  our  church, 
of  which  he  was  leader  for  so  long,  and  some  of  the 
young  people  came  and  stood  around  his  bed  and 
sang,  "  Jesus,  Lover  of  My  Soul."  They  did  not 
know  whether  he  was  conscious  or  not,  but  they 
thought  so  because  the  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks 
from  his  closed  eyelids,  though  he  could  not  speak 
or  move.  The  funeral  was  from  the  church  and 
Dr.  Daggett's  text  was,  "  The  Beloved  Physician." 


1 862 

January  26. — We  went  to  the  Baptist  Church  this 
evening  to  hear  Rev.  A.  H.  Lung  preach  his  last 
sermon  before  going  into  the  army. 

February  17. — Glorious  news  from  the  war  to- 
day. Fort  Donelson  is  taken  with  1,500  rebels. 
The  right  and  the  North  will  surely  triumph ! 

February  21. — Our  society  met  at  Fanny  Palmer's 
this  afternoon.  I  went  but  did  not  stay  to  tea  as 
we  were  going  to  Madame  Anna  Bishop's  concert 
in  the  evening.  The  concert  was  very,  very  good. 
Her  voice  has  great  scope  and  she  was  dressed  in 
the  latest  stage  costume,  but  it  took  so  much  mate- 
rial for  her  skirt  that  there  was  hardly  any  left  for 
the  waist. 

Washington's  Birthday. — Patriotic  services  were 
held  in  the  Congregational  Church  this  morning. 
Madame  Anna  Bishop  sang,  and  National  songs 
were  sung.  Hon.  James  C.  Smith  read  Washing- 
ton's Farewell  Address.  In  the  afternoon  a  party 
of  twenty-two,  young  and  old,  took  a  ride  in  the 
Seminary  boat  and  went  to  Mr.  Paton's  on  the  lake 
shore  road.  We  carried  flags  and  made  it  a  patri- 

138 


i862]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  139 

otic  occasion.  I  sat  next  to  Spencer  F.  Lincoln, 
a  young  man  from  Naples  who  is  studying  law  in 
Mr.  Henry  Chesebro's  office.  I  never  met  him  be- 
fore but  he  told  me  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to 
go  to  the  war.  It  is  wonderful  that  young  men 
who  have  brilliant  prospects  before  them  at  home, 
will  offer  themselves  upon  the  altar  of  their  coun- 
try. I  have  some  new  patriotic  stationery.  There 
is  a  picture  of  the  flag  on  the  envelope  and  under- 
neath, "If  any  one  attempts  to  haul  down  the 
American  flag  shoot  him  on  the  spot. — JOHN  A. 
Dix." 


Sunday,  February  23. — Everybody  came  out  to 
church  this  morning,  expecting  to  hear  Madame 
Anna  Bishop  sing.  She  was  not  there,  and  an 
"  agent  "  made  a  "  statement."  The  audience  did 
not  appear  particularly  edified. 

March  4. — John  B.  Gough  lectured  in  Bemis  Hall 
last  night  and  was  entertained  by  Governor  Clark. 
I  told  Grandfather  that  I  had  an  invitation  to  the 
lecture  and  he  asked  me  who  from.  I  told  him 
from  Mr.  Noah  T.  Clarke's  brother.  He  did  not 
make  the  least  objection  and  I  was  awfully  glad, 
because  he  has  asked  me  to  the  whole  course.  Wen- 
dell Phillips  and  Horace  Greeley,  E.  H.  Chapin  and 
John  G.  Saxe  and  Bayard  Taylor  are  expected. 
John  B.  Cough's  lecture  was  fine.  He  can  make 


HO          VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1862 

an  audience  laugh  as  much  by  wagging  his  coat  tails 
as  some  men  can  by  talking  an  hour. 

March  26. — I  have  been  up  at  Laura  Chapin's 
from  10  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  10  at  night,  fin- 
ishing Jennie  Howell's  bed  quilt,  as  she  is  to  be 
married  very  soon.  Almost  all  of  the  girls  were 
there.  We  finished  it  at  8  p.  m.  and  when  we  took 
it  off  the  frames  we  gave  three  cheers.  Some  of 
the  youth  of  the  village  came  up  to  inspect  our  han- 
diwork and  see  us  home.  Before  we  went  Julia 
Phelps  sang  and  played  on  the  guitar  and  Captain 
Barry  also  sang  and  we  all  sang  together,  "  O !  Co- 
lumbia, the  gem  of  the  ocean,  three  cheers  for  the 
red,  white  and  blue." 

June  19. — Our  cousin,  Ann  Eliza  Field,  was  mar- 
ried to-day  to  George  B.  Bates  at  her  home  on  Gib- 
son Street.  We  went  and  had  an  elegant  time. 
Charlie  Wheeler  made  great  fun  and  threw  the  final 
shower  of  rice  as  they  drove  away. 

June. — There  was  great  excitement  in  prayer 
meeting  last  night,  it  seemed  to  Abbie  Clark,  Mary 
Field  and  me  on  the  back  seat  where  we  always  sit. 
Several  people  have  asked  us  why  we  sit  away  back 
there  by  old  Mrs.  Kinney,  but  we  tell  them  that  she 
sits  on  the  other  side  of  the  stove  from  us  and  we 
like  the  seat,  because  we  have  occupied  it  so  long. 
I  presume  we  would  see  less  and  hear  more  if  we 


1862]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  141 

sat  in  front.  To-night  just  after  Mr.  Walter  Hub- 
bell  had  made  one  of  his  most  beautiful  prayers  and 
Mr.  Cyrus  Dixon  was  praying,  a  big  June  bug  came 
zipping  into  the  room  and  snapped  against  the  wall 
and  the  lights  and  barely  escaped  several  bald  heads. 
Anna  kept  dodging  around  in  a  most  startling  man- 
ner and  I  expected  every  moment  to  see  her  walk 
out  and  take  Emma  Wheeler  with  her,  for  if  she 
is  afraid  of  anything  more  than  dogs  it  is  June  bugs. 
At  this  crisis  the  bug  flew  out  and  a  cat  stealthily 
walked  in.  We  knew  that  dear  Mrs.  Taylor  was 
always  unpleasantly  affected  by  the  sight  of  cats 
and  we  didn't  know  what  would  happen  if  the  cat 
should  go  near  her.  The  cat  very  innocently 
ascended  the  steps  to  the  desk  and  as  Judge  and  Mrs. 
Taylor  always  sit  on  the  front  seat,  she  couldn't 
help  observing  the  ambitious  animal  as  it  started  to 
assist  Dr.  Daggett  in  conducting  the  meeting.  The 
result  was  that  Mrs.  Taylor  just  managed  to  reach 
the  outside  door  before  fainting  away.  We  were 
glad  when  the  benediction  was  pronounced. 

June. — Anna  and  I  had  a  serenade  last  night  from 
the  Academy  Glee  Club,  I  think,  as  their  voices 
sounded  familiar.  We  were  awakened  by  the 
music,  about  n  P.  M.,  quite  suddenly  and  I  thought 
I  would  step  across  the  hall  to  the  front  chamber  for 
a  match  to  light  the  candle.  I  was  only  half  awake, 
however,  and  lost  my  bearings  and  stepped  off  the 
stairs  and  rolled  or  slid  to  the  bottom.  The  stairs 


i42  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1862 

are  winding,  so  I  must  have  performed  two  or  three 
revolutions  before  I  reached  my  destination.  I 
jumped  up  and  ran  back  and  found  Anna  sitting  up 
in  bed,  laughing.  She  asked  me  where  I  had  been 
and  said  if  I  had  only  told  her  where  I  was  going 
she  would  have  gone  for  me.  We  decided  not  to 
strike  a  light,  but  just  listen  to  the  singing.  Anna 
said  she  was  glad  that  the  leading  tenor  did  not 
know  how  quickly  I  "  tumbled  "  to  the  words  of 
his  song,  "  O  come  my  love  and  be  my  own,  nor 
longer  let  me  dwell  alone,"  for  she  thought  he  would 
be  too  much  flattered.  Grandfather  came  into  the 
hall  and  asked  if  any  bones  were  broken  and  if  he 
should  send  for  a  doctor.  We  told  him  we  guessed 
not,  we  thought  we  would  be  all  right  in  the  morn- 
ing. He  thought  it  was  Anna  who  fell  down  stairs, 
as  he  is  never  looking  for  such  exploits  in  me.  We 
girls  received  some  verses  from  the  Academy  boys, 
written  by  Greig  Mulligan,  under  the  assumed  name 
of  Simon  Snooks.  The  subject  was,  "  The  Poor 
Unfortunate  Academy  Boys."  We  have  answered 
them  and  now  I  fear  Mrs.  Grundy  will  see  them 
and  imagine  something  serious  is  going  on.  But 
she  is  mistaken  and  will  find,  at  the  end  of  the  ses- 
sion, our  hearts  are  still  in  our  own  possession. 

When  we  were  down  at  Sucker  Brook  the  other 
afternoon  we  were  watching  the  water  and  one  of 
the  girls  said,  "  How  nice  it  would  be  if  our  lives 
could  run  along  as  smoothly  as  this  stream."  I  said 
I  thought  it  would  be  too  monotonous.  Laura 


i862]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  143 

Chapin  said  she  supposed  I  would  rather  have  an 
"  eddy  "  in  mine. 

We  went  to  the  examination  at  the  Academy  to- 
day and  to  the  gymnasium  exercises  afterwards. 
Mr.  Noah  T.  Clarke's  brother  leads  them  and  they 
do  some  great  feats  with  their  rings  and  swings  and 
weights  and  ladders.  We  girls  can  do  a  few  in 
the  bowling  alley  at  the  Seminary. 

June. — I  visited  Eureka  Lawrence  in  Syracuse 
and  we  attended  commencement  at  Hamilton  Col- 
lege, Clinton,  and  saw  there,  James  Tunnicliff  and 
Stewart  Ellsworth  of  Penn  Yan.  I  also  saw  Darius 
Sackett  there  among  the  students  and  also  became 
acquainted  with  a  very  interesting  young  man  from 
Syracuse,  with  the  classic  name  of  Horace  Publius 
Virgilius  Bogue.  Both  of  these  young  men  are 
studying  for  the  ministry.  I  also  saw  Henry  P. 
Cook,  who  used  to  be  one  of  the  Academy  boys,  and 
Morris  Brown,  of  Penn  Yan.  They  talk  of  leaving 
college  and  going  to  the  war  and  so  does  Darius 
Sackett. 

July,  1862. — The  President  has  called  for  300,000 
more  brave  men  to  fill  up  the  ranks  of  the  fallen. 
We  hear  every  day  of  more  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances who  have  volunteered  to  go. 

August  20. — The  i26th  Regiment,  just  organized, 
was  mustered  into  service  at  Camp  Swift,  Geneva. 


144          VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1862 

Those  that  I  know  who  belong  to  it  are  Colonel 
E.  S.  Sherrill,  Lieutenant  Colonel  James  M.  Bull, 
Captain  Charles  A.  Richardson,  Captain  Charles  M. 
Wheeler,  Captain  Ten  Eyck  Munson,  Captain  Orin 
G.  Herendeen,  Surgeon  Dr.  Charles  S.  Hoyt,  Hos- 
pital Steward  Henry  T.  Antes,  First  Lieutenant 
Charles  Gage,  Second  Lieutenant  Spencer  F.  Lin- 
coln, First  Sergeant  Morris  Brown,  Corporal  Hoi- 
lister  N.  Grimes,  Privates  Darius  Sackett,  Henry 
Willson,  Oliver  Castle,  William  Lamport. 

Dr.  Hoyt  wrote  home :  "  God  bless  the  dear 
ones  we  leave  behind;  and  while  you  try  to  perform 
the  duties  you  owe  to  each  other,  we  will  try  to 
perform  ours." 

We  saw  by  the  papers  that  the  volunteers  of  the 
regiment  before  leaving  camp  at  Geneva  allotted 
over  $15,000  of  their  monthly  pay  to  their  families 
and  friends  at  home.  One  soldier  sent  this  telegram 
to  his  wife,  as  the  regiment  started  for  the  front: 
"  God  bless  you.  Hail  Columbia.  Kiss  the  baby. 
Write  soon."  A  volume  in  ten  words. 

August. — The  New  York  State  S.  S.  convention 
is  convened  here  and  the  meetings  are  most  interest- 
ing. They  were  held  in  our  church  and  lasted  three 
days.  A  Mr.  Hart,  from  New  York,  led  the  sing- 
ing and  Mr.  Ralph  Wells  was  Moderator.  Mr. 
Noah  T.  Clarke  was  in  his  element  all  through  the 
meetings.  Mr.  Pardee  gave  some  fine  blackboard 
exercises.  During  the  last  afternoon  Mr.  Tousley 


1862]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  145 

was  wheeled  into  the  church,  in  his  invalid  chair, 
and  said  a  few  words,  which  thrilled  every  one. 
So  much  tenderness,  mingled  with  his  old  time  en- 
thusiasm and  love  for  the  cause.  It  is  the  last  time 
probably  that  his  voice  will  ever  be  heard  in  public. 
They  closed  the  grand  meeting  with  the  hymn  be- 
ginning : 

"  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 
Our  hearts  in  Christian  love." 

In  returning  thanks  to  the  people  of  Canandaigua 
for  their  generous  entertainment,  Mr.  Ralph  Wells 
facetiously  said  that  the  cost  of  the  convention  must 
mean  something  to  Canandaigua  people,  for  the 
cook  in  one  home  was  heard  to  say,  "  These  re- 
ligiouses  do  eat  awful !  " 

September  13. — Darius  Sackett  was  wounded  by 
a  musket  shot  in  the  leg,  at  Maryland  Heights,  Va., 
and  in  consequence  is  discharged  from  the  service. 

September. — Edgar  A.  Griswold  of  Naples  is  re- 
cruiting a  company  here  for  the  I48th  Regiment,  of 
which  he  is  captain.  Hiram  P.  Brown,  Henry  S. 
Murray  and  Charles  H.  Paddock  are  officers  in  the 
company.  Dr.  Elnathan  W.  Simmons  is  surgeon. 

September  22. — I  read  aloud  to  Grandfather  this 
evening  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  issued  as 


146  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1862 

a  war  measure  by  President  Lincoln,  to  take  effect 
January  i,  liberating  over  three  million  slaves.  He 
recommends  to  all  thus  set  free,  to  labor  faithfully 
for  reasonable  wages  and  to  abstain  from  all  vio- 
lence, unless  in  necessary  self-defense,  and  he  in- 
vokes upon  this  act  "  the  considerate  judgment  of 
mankind  and  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God." 

November  21. — This  is  my  twentieth  birthday. 
Anna  wanted  to  write  a  poem  for  the  occasion  and 
this  morning  she  handed  me  what  she  called  "An 
effort."  She  said  she  wrestled  with  it  all  night  long 
and  could  not  sleep  and  this  was  the  result : 

"  One  hundred  years  from  now,  Carrie  dear. 
In  all  probability  you'll  not  be  here ; 
But  we'll  all  be  in  the  same  boat,  too, 
And  there'll  be  no  one  left 
To  say  boo  hoo !  " 

Grandfather  gave  me  for  a  present  a  set  of  books 
called  "  Irving's  Catechisms  on  Ancient  Greeks  and 
Romans."  They  are  four  little  books  bound  in 
leather,  which  were  presented  to  our  mother  for  a 
prize.  It  is  thus  inscribed  on  the  front  page,  "  Miss 
Elizabeth  Beals  at  a  public  examination  of  the  Fe- 
male Boarding  School  in  East  Bloomfield,  October 
15,  1825,  was  judged  to  excel  the  school  in  Reading. 
In  testimony  of  which  she  receives  this  Premium 
from  her  affectionate  instructress,  S.  Adams." 

I  cannot  imagine  Grandmother  sending  us  away 


1862]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  147 

to  boarding  school,  but  I  suppose  she  had  so  many 
children  then,  she  could  spare  one  or  two  as  well  as 
not.  She  says  they  sent  Aunt  Ann  to  Miss  Wil- 
lard's  school  at  Troy.  I  received  a  birthday  letter 
from  Mrs.  Beaumont  to-day.  She  wants  to  know 
how  everything  goes  at  the  Seminary  and  if  Anna 
still  occupies  the  front  seat  in  the  school  room  most 
of  the  time.  She  says  she  supposes  she  is  quite  a 
sedate  young  lady  now  but  she  hopes  there  is  a  whole 
lot  of  the  old  Anna  left.  I  think  there  is. 

December. — Hon.  William  H.  Lamport  went 
down  to  Virginia  to  see  his  son  and  found  that  he 
had  just  died  in  the  hospital  from  measles  and  pneu- 
monia. Their  only  son,  only  eighteen  years  old ! 


i863 

January. — Grandmother  went  to  Aunt  Mary 
Carr's  to  tea  to-night,  very  much  to  our  surprise, 
for  she  seldom  goes  anywhere.  Anna  said  she  was 
going  to  keep  house  exactly  as  Grandmother  did, 
so  after  supper  she  took  a  little  hot  water  in  a  basin 
on  a  tray  and  got  the  tea-towels  and  washed  the 
silver  and  best  china  but  she  let  the  ivory  handles 
on  the  knives  and  forks  get  wet,  so  I  presume  they 
will  all  turn  black.  Grandmother  never  lets  her 
little  nice  things  go  out  into  the  kitchen,  so  probably 
that  is  the  reason  that  everything  is  forty  years  old 
and  yet  as  good  as  new.  She  let  us  have  the  Young 
Ladies'  Aid  Society  here  to  supper  because  I  am 
President.  She  came  into  the  parlor  and  looked 
at  our  basket  of  work,  which  the  older  ladies  cut  out 
for  us  to  make  for  the  soldiers.  She  had  the  supper 
table  set  the  whole  length  of  the  dining  room  and 
let  us  preside  at  the  table.  Anna  made  the  girls 
laugh  so,  they  could  hardly  eat,  although  they  said 
everything  was  splendid.  They  said  they  never  ate 
better  biscuit,  preserves,  or  fruit  cake  and  the  coffee 
was  delicious.  After  it  was  over,  the  "  dear  little 
lady  "  said  she  hoped  we  had  a  good  time.  After 
the  girls  were  gone  Grandmother  wanted  to  look 
over  the  garments  and  see  how  much  we  had  accom- 

148 


1863]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  149 

plished  and  if  we  had  made  them  well.  Mary  Field 
made  a  pair  of  drawers  with  No.  90  thread.  She 
said  she  wanted  them  to  look  fine  and  I  am  sure 
they  did.  Most  of  us  wrote  notes  and  put  inside 
the  garments  for  the  soldiers  in  the  hospitals. 

Sarah  Gibson  Howell  has  had  an  answer  to  her 
letter.  His  name  is  Foster — a  Major.  She  ex- 
pects him  to  come  and  see  her  soon. 

All  the  girls  wear  newspaper  bustles  to  school 
now  and  Anna's  rattled  to-day  and  Emma  Wheeler 
heard  it  and  said,  "What's  the  news,  Anna?" 
They  both  laughed  out  loud  and  found  that  "  the 
latest  news  from  the  front "  was  that  Miss  Morse 
kept  them  both  after  school  and  they  had  to  copy 
Dictionary  for  an  hour.  War  prices  are  terrible. 
I  paid  $3.50  to-day  for  a  hoop  skirt. 

January  13. — P.  T.  Barnum  delivered  his  lecture 
on  "  The  Art  of  Money  Getting  "  in  Bemis  Hall  this 
evening  for  the  benefit  of  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society, 
which  is  working  for  the  soldiers.  We  girls  went 
and  enjoyed  it. 

February. — The  members  of  our  society  sympa- 
thized with  General  McClellan  when  he  was  criti- 
cised by  some  and  we  wrote  him  the  following  letter : 

"  CANANDAIGUA,  Feb.  13,  1863. 
"  MAJ.  GEN.  GEO.  MCCLELLAN  : 

"  Will  you  pardon  any  seeming  impropriety  in  our 
addressing  you,  and  attribute  it  to  the  impulsive  love 


150  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1863 

and  admiration  of  hearts  which  see  in  you,  the  bravest 
and  noblest  defender  of  our  Union.  We  cannot  resist 
the  impulse  to  tell  you,  be  our  words  ever  so  feeble, 
how  our  love  and  trust  have  followed  you  from  Rich 
Mountain  to  Antietam,  through  all  slanderous  attacks 
of  traitorous  politicians  and  fanatical  defamers — how 
we  have  admired,  not  less  than  your  calm  courage  on 
the  battlefield,  your  lo-fty  scorn  of  those  who  remained 
at  home  in  the  base  endeavor  to  strip  from  your  brow 
the  hard  earned  laurels  placed  there  by  a  grateful 
country :  to  tell  further,  that  in  your  forced  retirement 
from  battlefields  of  the  Republic's  peril,  you  have  '  but 
changed  your  country's  arms  for  more, — your  coun- 
try's heart,' — and  to  assure  you  that  so  long  as  our 
country  remains  to  us  a  sacred  name  and  our  flag 
a  holy  emblem,  so  long  shall  we  cherish  your  memory 
as  the  defender  and  protector  of  both.  We  are  an 
association  whose  object  it  is  to  aid,  in  the  only  way 
in  which  woman,  alas !  can  aid  our  brothers  in  the 
field.  Our  sympathies  are  with  them  in  the  cause 
for  which  they  have  periled  all — our  hearts  are 
with  them  in  the  prayer,  that  ere  long  their  beloved 
commander  may  be  restored  to  them,  and  that  once 
more  as  of  old  he  may  lead  them  to  victory  in  the 
sacred  name  of  the  Union  and  Constitution. 

"  With  united  prayers  that  the  Father  of  all  may 
have  you  and  yours  ever  in  His  holy  keeping,  we 
remain  your  devoted  partisans." 

Signed  by  a  large  number. 

The  following  in  reply  was  addressed  to  the  lady 
whose  name  was  first  signed  to  the  above: 

"  NEW  YORK,  Feb.  21,  1863. 

"  MADAM — I  take  great  pleasure  in  acknowledging 
the  receipt  of  the  very  kind  letter  of  the  I3th  inst., 


1863]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  151 

from  yourself  and  your  friends.  Will  you  do  me  the 
favor  to  say  to  them  how  much  I  thank  them  for  it, 
and  that  I  am  at  a  loss  to  express  my  gratitude  for 
the  pleasant  and  cheering  terms  in  which  it  is  couched. 
Such  sentiments  on  the  part  of  those  whose  brothers 
have  served  with  me  in  the  field  are  more  grateful 
to  me  than  anything  else  can  be.  I  feel  far  more  than 
rewarded  by  them  for  all  I  have  tried  to  accomplish. 
—I  am,  Madam,  with  the  most  sincere  respect  and 
friendship,  yours  very  truly, 

"  GEO.  B.  MCCLELLAN." 


May. — A  number  of  the  teachers  and  pupils  of  the 
Academy  have  enlisted  for  the  war.  Among  them 
E.  C.  Clarke,  H.  C.  Kirk,  A.  T.  Wilder,  Norman  K. 
Martin,  T.  C.  Parkhurst,  Mr.  Gates.  They  have\a 
tent  on  the  square  and  are  enlisting  men  in  Canaii- 
daigua  and  vicinity  for  the  4th  N.  Y.  Heavy  Ar- 
tillery. I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Noah  T. 
Clarke's  mother  in  Naples.  She  had  already  sent 
three  sons,  Bela,  William  and  Joseph,  to  the  war  and 
she  is  very  sad  because  her  youngest  has  now  en- 
listed. She  says  she  feels  as  did  Jacob  of  old  when 
he  said,  "  I  am  bereaved  of  my  children.  Joseph 
is  not  and  Simeon  is  not  and  now  you  will  take 
Benjamin  away."  I  have  heard  that  she  is  a  beau- 
tiful singer  but  she  says  she  cannot  sing  any  more 
until  this  cruel  war  is  over.  I  wish  that  I  could 
write  something  to  comfort  her  but  I  feel  as  Mrs. 
Browning  puts  it:  "  If  you  want  a  song  for  your 
Italy  free,  let  none  look  at  me." 


152  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1863 

Our  society  met  at  Fannie  Pierce's  this  afternoon. 
Her  mother  is  an  invalid  and  never  gets  out  at  all, 
but  she  is  very  much  interested  in  the  soldiers  and 
in  all  young  people,  and  loves  to  have  us  come  in 
and  see  her  and  we  love  to  go.  She  enters  into  the 
plans  of  all  of  us  young  girls  and  has  a  personal 
interest  in  us.  We  had  a  very  good  time  to-night 
and  Laura  Chapin  was  more  full  of  fun  than  usual. 
Once  there  was  silence  for  a  minute  or  two  and 
some  one  said,  "  awful  pause."  Laura  said,  "  I 
guess  you  would  have  awful  paws  if  you  worked  as 
hard  as  I  do."  We  were  talking  about  how  many 
of  us  girls  would  be  entitled  to  flag  bed  quilts,  and 
according  to  the  rules,,  they  said  that,  up  to  date, 
Abbie  Clark  and  I  were  the  only  ones.  The  ex- 
planation is  that  Captain  George  N.  Williams  and 
Lieutenant  E.  C.  Clarke  are  enlisted  in  their  coun- 
try's service.  Susie  Daggett  is  Secretary  and 
Treasurer  of  the  Society  and  she  reported  that  in 
one  year's  time  we  made  in  our  society  133  pairs  of 
drawers,  101  shirts,  4  pairs  socks  for  soldiers,  and 
54  garments  for  the  families  of  soldiers. 

Abbie  Clark  and  I  had  our  ambrotypes  taken  to- 
day for  two  young  braves  who  are  going  to  the  war. 
William  H.  Adams  is  also  commissioned  Captain 
and  is  going  to  the  front. 

July  4. — The  terrible  battle  of  Gettysburg  brings 
to  Canandaigua  sad  news  of  our  soldier  boys  of  the 
1 26th  Regiment.  Colonel  Sherrill  was  instantly 


Abbie  Clark  and  I 

had  our  ambrotypes  taken  to-day" 


"Mr.   Noah  T.  Clarke's 
Brother  and  I" 


1863]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  153 

killed,  also  Captains  Wheeler  and  Herendeen, 
Henry  Willson  and  Henry  P.  Cook.  Captain  Rich- 
ardson was  wounded. 

July  26. — Charlie  Wheeler  was  buried  with  mili- 
tary honors  from  the  Congregational  church  to-day. 
Two  companies  of  the  54th  New  York  State  Na- 
tional Guard  attended  the  funeral,  and  the  church 
was  packed,  galleries  and  all.  It  was  the  saddest 
funeral  and  the  only  one  of  a  soldier  that  I  ever 
attended.  I  hope  it  will  be  the  last.  He  was  killed 
at  Gettysburg,  July  3,  by  a  sharpshooter's  bullet. 
He  was  a  very  bright  young  man,  graduate  of  Yale 
college  and  was  practising  law.  He  was  captain  of 
Company  K,  I26th  N.  Y.  Volunteers.  I  have 
copied  an  extract  from  Mr.  Morse's  lecture,  "  You 
and  I " :  "  And  who  has  forgotten  that  gifted 
youth,  who  fell  on  the  memorable  field  of  Gettys- 
burg? To  win  a  noble  name,  to  save  a  beloved 
country,  he  took  his  place  beneath  the  dear  old  flag, 
and  while  cannon  thundered  and  sabers  clashed  and 
the  stars  of  the  old  Union  shone  above  his  head  he 
went  down  in  the  shock  of  battle  and  left  us  deso- 
late, a  name  to  love  and  a  glory  to  endure.  And  as 
we  solemnly  know,  as  by  the  old  charter  of  liberty 
we  most  sacredly  swear,  he  was  truly  and  faithfully 
and  religiously 

Of  all  our  friends  the  noblest, 
The  choicest  and  the  purest, 
The  nearest  and  the  dearest, 
In  the  field  at  Gettysburg. 


154          VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1863 

Of  all  the  heroes  bravest, 
Of  soul  the  brightest,  whitest, 
Of  all  the  warriors  greatest, 
Shot  dead  at  Gettysburg. 

And  where  the  fight  was  thickest, 
And  where  the  smoke  was  blackest, 
And  where  the  fire  was  hottest, 

On  the  fields  of  Gettysburg, 
There  flashed  his  steel  the  brightest, 
There  blazed  his  eyes  the  fiercest, 
There  flowed  his  blood  the  reddest 

On  the  field  of  Gettysburg. 

O  wailing  winds  of  heaven ! 
O  weeping  dew  of  evening! 
O  music  of  the  waters 

That  flow  at  Gettysburg, 
Mourn  tenderly  the  hero, 
The  rare  and  glorious  hero, 
The  loved  and  peerless  hero, 

Who  died  at  Gettysburg. 

His  turf  shall  be  the  greenest, 
His  roses  bloom  the  sweetest, 
His  willow  droop  the  saddest 

Of  all  at  Gettysburg. 
His  memory  live  the  freshest, 
His  fame  be  cherished  longest, 
Of  all  the  holy  warriors, 

Who  fell  at  Gettysburg. 

These  were  patriots,  these  were  our  jewels. 
When  shall  we  see  their  like  again?  And  of  every 
soldier  who  has  fallen  in  this  war  his  friends  may 


1863]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  155 

write  just  as  lovingly  as  you  and  I  may  do  of  those 
to  whom  I  pay  my  feeble  tribute." 

August,  1863. — The  U.  S.  Sanitary  Commission 
has  been  organized.  Canandaigua  sent  Dr.  W.  Fitch 
Cheney  to  Gettysburg  with  supplies  for  the  sick  and 
wounded  and  he  took  seven  assistants  with  him. 
Home  bounty  was  brought  to  the  tents  and  put  into 
the  hands  of  the  wounded  soldiers.  A  blessed  work. 

August  12. — Lucilla  Field  was  married  in  our 
church  to-day  to  Rev.  S.  W.  Pratt.  I  always 
thought  she  was  cut  out  for  a  minister's  wife. 
Jennie  Draper  cried  herself  sick  because  Lucilla, 
her  Sunday  School  teacher,  is  going  away. 

October  8. — News  came  to-day  of  the  death  of 
Lieutenant  Hiram  Bro\vn.  He  died  of  fever  at 
Portsmouth,  only  little  more  than  a  year  after  he 
went  away. 

November  i. — The  4th  New  York  Heavy  Artil- 
lery is  stationed  at  Fort  Hamilton,  N.  Y.  harbor. 
Uncle  Edward  has  invited  me  down  to  New  York 
to  spend  a  month !  Very  opportune !  Grandfather 
says  that  I  can  go  and  Miss  Rosewarne  is  beginning 
a  new  dress  for  me  to-day. 

November  6. — We  were  saddened  to-day  by  news 
of  the  death  of  Augustus  Torrey  Wilder  in  the  hos- 
pital at  Fort  Ethan  Allen. 


156  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1863 

November  9. — No.  68  E.  igth  Street,  New  York 
City.  Grandfather  and  I  came  from  Canandaigua 
yesterday.  He  is  at  Gramercy  Park  Hotel.  We 
were  met  by  a  military  escort  of  "  one  "  at  Albany 
and  consequently  came  through  more  safely,  I  sup- 
pose. James  met  us  at  42d  Street  Grand  Central 
Station.  He  lives  at  Uncle  Edward's;  attends  to 
all  of  his  legal  business  and  is  his  confidential  clerk. 
I  like  it  very  much  here.  They  are  very  stylish  and 
grand  but  I  don't  mind  that.  Aunt  Emily  is  re- 
served and  dignified  but  very  kind.  People  do  not 
pour  their  tea  or  coffee  into  their  saucers  any  more 
to  cool  it,  but  drink  it  from  the  cup,  and  you  must 
mind  and  not  leave  your  teaspoon  in  your  cup.  I 
notice  everything  and  am  very  particular.  Mr. 
Morris  K.  Jesup  lives  right  across  the  street  and  I 
see  him  every  day,  as  he  is  a  friend  of  Uncle  Ed- 
ward. Grandfather  has  gone  back  home  and  left 
me  in  charge  of  friends  "  a  la  militaire  "  and  others. 

November  15. — "  We"  went  out  to  Fort  Hamil- 
ton to-day  and  are  going  to  Blackwell's  Island  to- 
morrow and  to  many  other  places  of  interest  down 
the  Bay.  Soldiers  are  everywhere  and  I  feel  quite 
important,  walking  around  in  company  with  blue 
coat  and  brass  buttons — very  becoming  style  of 
dress  for  men  and  the  military  salute  at  every  turn 
is  what  one  reads  about. 

Sunday. — Went  to  Broadway  Tabernacle  to 
church  to-day  and  heard  Rev.  Joseph  P.  Thompson 


1863]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  157 

preach.  Abbie  Clark  is  visiting  her  sister,  Mrs. 
Fred  Thompson,  and  sat  a  few  seats  ahead  of  us  in 
church.  She  turned  around  and  saw  us.  We  also 
saw  Henrietta  Francis  Talcott,  who  was  a  "  Semi- 
nary girl."  She  wants  me  to  come  to  see  her  in 
her  New  York  home. 

November  19. — We  wish  we  were  at  Gettysburg 
to-day  to  hear  President  Lincoln's  and  Edward  Ev- 
erett's addresses  at  the  dedication  of  the  National 
Cemetery.  We  will  read  them  in  to-morrow's  pa- 
pers, but  it  will  not  be  like  hearing  them. 

Author's  Note,  1911. — Forty-eight  years  have 
elapsed  since  Lincoln's  speech  was  delivered  at  the 
dedication  of  the  Soldiers'  Cemetery  at  Gettysburg. 
So  eloquent  and  remarkable  was  his  utterance  that  I 
believe  I  am  correct  in  stating  that  every  word 
spoken  has  now  been  translated  into  all  known  lan- 
guages and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  World  Classics. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  Lincoln's  letter  to  the 
mother  of  five  sons  lost  in  battle.  I  make  no  apology 
for  inserting  in  this  place  both  the  speech  and  the 
letter.  Mr.  Whitelaw  Reid,  the  American  Ambas- 
sador to  Great  Britain,  in  an  address  on  Lincoln  de- 
livered at  the  University  of  Birmingham  in  Decem- 
ber, 1910,  remarked  in  reference  to  this  letter, 
"  What  classic  author  in  our  common  English 
tongue  has  surpassed  that  ?  "  and  next  may  I  ask, 
"  What  English  or  American  orator  has  on  a  similar 


158  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1863 

occasion  surpassed  this  address  on  the  battlefield  of 
Gettysburg  ?  " 

"  Four  score  and  seven  years  ago,  our  fathers 
brought  forth  on  this  continent  a  new  nation  con- 
ceived in  liberty  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition  that 
all  men  are  created  equal.  Now  we  are  engaged  in 
a  great  civil  war,  testing  whether  that  nation,  or  any 
nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated,  can  long  endure. 
We  are  met  on  a  great  battlefield  of  that  war.  We 
have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as  a 
final  resting  place  for  those  who  gave  their  lives  that 
that  nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and 
proper  that  we  should  do  this.  But  in  a  larger  sense 
we  cannot  dedicate — we  cannot  consecrate — we  cannot 
hallow  this  ground.  The  brave  men,  living  and  dead, 
who  struggled  here  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our 
poor  power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will  little 
note,  nor  long  remember,  what  we  say  here — but  it 
can  never  forget  what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us, 
the  living,  rather,  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfin- 
ished work  which  they  who  fought  here  have  thus 
far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here 
dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us — that 
from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion 
to  that  cause  for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure 
of  devotion — that  we  here  highly  resolve,  that  these 
dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain — that  this  nation 
under  God  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom — and 
that  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for 
the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 

It  was  during  the  dark  days  of  the  war  that  he 
wrote  this  simple  letter  of  sympathy  to  a  bereaved 
mother : — 


,863]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  159 

"  I  have  been  shown,  in  the  files  of  the  War 
Department,  a  statement  that  you  are  the  mother  of 
five  sons  who  have  died  gloriously  on  the  field  of 
battle.  I  feel  how  weak  and  fruitless  must  be  any 
words  of  mine  which  should  attempt  to  beguile  you 
from  your  grief  for  a  loss  so  overwhelming,  but  I 
cannot  refrain  from  tendering  to  you  the  consolation 
which  may  be  found  in  the  thanks  of  the  Republic 
they  died  to  save.  I  pray  that  our  Heavenly  Father 
may  assuage  the  anguish  of  your  bereavement,  and 
leave  you  only  the  cherished  memory  of  the  loved  and 
lost,  and  the  solemn  pride  that  must  be  yours,  to  have 
laid  so  costly  a  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  Freedom." 

November  21. — Abbie  Clark  and  her  cousin  Cora 
came  to  call  and  invited  me  and  her  soldier  cousin 
to  come  to  dinner  to-night,  at  Mrs.  Thompson's. 
He  will  be  here  this  afternoon  and  I  will  give  him 
the  invitation.  James  is  asked  for  the  evening. 

November  22. — We  had  a  delightful  visit.  Mr. 
Thompson  took  us  up  into  his  den  and  showed  us 
curios  from  all  over  the  world  and  as  many  pic- 
tures as  we  would  find  in  an  art  gallery. 

Friday. — Last  evening  Uncle  Edward  took  a 
party  of  us,  including  Abbie  Clark,  to  Wallack's 
Theater  to  see  "  Rosedale,"  which  is  having  a  great 
run.  I  enjoyed  it  and  told  James  it  was  the  best 
play  I  ever  "  heard."  He  said  I  must  not  say  that 
I  "heard"  a  play.  I  "saw"  it.  I  stand  cor- 
rected. 


160  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1863 

I  told  James  that  I  heard  of  a  young  girl  who 
went  abroad  and  on  her  return  some  one  asked  her 
i/^  she  saw  King  Lear  and  she  said,  no,  he  was  sick 
all  the  time  she  was  there !  I  just  loved  the  play 
last  night  and  laughed  and  cried  in  turn,  it  seemed 
so  real.  I  don't  know  what  Grandmother  will  say, 
but  I  wrote  her  about  it  and  said,  "  When  you  are 
with  the  Romans,  you  must  do  as  the  Romans  do." 
I  presume  she  will  say  "  that  is  not  the  way  you  were 
brought  up." 

December  7. — The  4th  New  York  Heavy  Artil- 
lery has  orders  to  move  to  Fort  Ethan  Allen,  near 
Washington,  and  I  have  orders  to  return  to  Canan- 
daigua.  I  have  enjoyed  the  five  weeks  very  much 
and  as  "  the  soldier  "  was  on  parole  most  of  the  time 
I  have  seen  much  of  interest  in  the  city.  Uncle 
Edward  says  that  he  has  lived  here  forty  years  but 
has  never  visited  some  of  the  places  that  we  have 
seen,  so  he  told  me  when  I  mentioned  climbing  to 
the  top  of  Trinity  steeple. 

CANANDAIGUA,  December  8. — Home  again.  I 
had  military  attendance  as  far  as  Paterson,  N.  J., 
and  came  the  rest  of  the  way  with  strangers.  Not 
caring  to  talk  I  liked  it  just  as  well.  When  I  said 
good  bye  I  could  not  help  wondering  whether  it 
was  for  years,  or  forever.  This  cruel  war  is  ter- 
rible and  precious  lives  are  being  sacrificed  and 


1863]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  161 

hearts  broken  every  day.     What  is  to  be  the  result  ? 
We  can  only  trust  and  wait. 

Christmas  Eve,  1863. — Sarah  Gibson  Howell  was 
married  to  Major  Foster  this  evening.  She  invited 
all  the  society  and  many  others.  It  was  a  beautiful 
wedding  and  we  all  enjoyed  it.  Some  time  ago  I 
asked  her  to  write  in  my  album  and  she  sewed  a 
lock  of  her  black  curling  hair  on  the  page  and  in  the 
center  of  it  wrote,  "  Forget  not  Gippie." 

December  31. — Our  brother  John  was  married  in 
Boston  to-day  to  Laura  Arnold,  a  lovely  girl. 


1 864 

April  i. — Grandfather  had  decided  to  go  to  New 
York  to  attend  the  fair  given  by  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission; and  he  is  taking  two  immense  books,  which 
are  more  than  one  hundred  years  old,  to  present  to 
the  Commission,  for  the  benefit  of  the  war  fund. 

April  1 8. — Grandfather  returned  home  to-day, 
unexpectedly  to  us.  I  knew  he  was  sick  when  I 
met  him  at  the  door.  He  had  traveled  all  night 
alone  from  New  York,  although  he  said  that  a 
stranger,  a  fellow  passenger,  from  Ann  Arbor, 
Mich.,  on  the  train  noticed  that  he  was  suffering  and 
was  very  kind  to  him.  He  said  he  fell  in  his  room 
at  Gramercy  Park  Hotel  in  the  night,  and  his  knee 
was  very  painful.  We  sent  for  old  Dr.  Cheney  and 
he  said  the  hurt  was  a  serious  one  and  needed  most 
careful  attention.  I  was  invited  to  a  spelling  school 
at  Abbie  Clark's  in  the  evening  and  Grandmother 
said  that  she  and  Anna  would  take  care  of  Grand- 
father till  I  got  back,  and  then  I  could  sit  up  by 
him  the  rest  of  the  night.  We  spelled  down  and 
had  quite  a  merry  time.  Major  C.  S.  Aldrich  had 
escaped  from  prison  and  was  there.  He  came  home 
with  me,  as  my  soldier  is  down  in  Virginia. 

162 


1864]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  163 

April  19. — Grandfather  is  much  worse.  He  was 
delirious  all  night.  We  have  sent  for  Dr.  Rose- 
warne  in  counsel  and  Mrs.  Lightfoote  has  come  to 
stay  with  us  all  the  time  and  we  have  sent  for  Aunt 
Glorianna. 

April  20. — Grandfather  dictated  a  letter  to-night 
to  a  friend  of  his  in  New  York.  After  I  had  fin- 
ished he  asked  me  if  I  had  mended  his  gloves.  I 
said  no,  but  I  would  have  them  ready  when  he 
wanted  them.  Dear  Grandfather!  he  looks  so  sick 
I  fear  he  will  never  wear  his  gloves  again. 

May  1 6. — I  have  not  written  in  my  diary  for  a 
month  and  it  has  been  the  saddest  month  of  my  life. 
Dear,  dear  Grandfather  is  dead.  He  was  buried 
May  2,  just  two  weeks  from  the  day  that  he  returned 
from  New  York.  We  did  everything  for  him  that 
could  be  done,  but  at  the  end  of  the  first  week  the 
doctors  saw  that  he  was  beyond  all  human  aid. 
Uncle  Thomas  told  the  doctors  that  they  must  tell 
him.  He  was  much  surprised  but  received  the  ver- 
dict calmly.  He  said  "  he  had  no  notes  out  and 
perhaps  it  was  the  best  time  to  go."  He  had  taught 
us  how  to  live  and  he  seemed  determined  to  show 
us  how  a  Christian  should  die.  He  said  he  wanted 
"  Grandmother  and  the  children  to  come  to  him  and 
have  all  the  rest  remain  outside."  When  we  came 
into  the  room  he  said  to  Grandmother,  "  Do  you 
know  what  the  doctors  say  ?  "  She  bowed  her  head, 


164  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1864 

and  then  he  motioned  for  her  to  come  on  one  side 
and  Anna  and  me  on  the  other  and  kneel  by  his  bed- 
side. He  placed  a  hand  upon  us  and  upon  her  and 
said  to  her,  "  All  the  rest  seem  very  much  excited, 
but  you  and  I  must  be  composed."  Then  he  asked 
us  to  say  the  23d  Psalm,  "  The  Lord  is  my  Shep- 
herd," and  then  all  of  us  said  the  Lord's  Prayer 
together  after  Grandmother  had  offered  a  little 
prayer  for  grace  and  strength  in  this  trying  hour. 
Then  he  said,  "  Grandmother,  you  must  take  care  of 
the  girls,  and,  girls,  you  must  take  care  of  Grand- 
mother." We  felt  as  though  our  hearts  would 
break  and  were  sure  we  never  could  be  happy  again. 
During  the  next  few  days  he  often  spoke  of  dying 
and  of  what  we  must  do  when  he  was  gone.  Once 
when  I  was  sitting  by  him  he  looked  up  and  smiled 
and  said,  "  You  will  lose  all  your  roses  watching 
over  me."  A  good  many  business  men  came  in  to 
see  him  to  receive  his  parting  blessing.  The  two 
McKechnie  brothers,  Alexander  and  James,  came  in 
together  on  their  way  home  from  church  the  Sunday 
before  he  died.  Dr.  Daggett  came  very  often.  Mr. 
Alexander  Howell  and  Mrs.  Worthington  came,  too. 
He  lived  until  Saturday,  the  3Oth,  and  in  the 
morning  he  said,  "  Open  the  door  wide."  We  did 
so  and  he  said,  "  Let  the  King  of  Glory  enter  in." 
Very  soon  after  he  said,  "  I  am  going  home  to 
Paradise,"  and  then  sank  into  that  sleep  which  on 
this  earth  knows  no  waking.  I  sat  by  the  window 
near  his  bed  and  watched  the  rain  beat  into  the 


1864]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  165 

grass  and  saw  the  peonies  and  crocuses  and  daffo- 
dils beginning  to  come  up  out  of  the  ground  and  I 
thought  to  myself,  I  shall  never  see  the  flowers  come 
up  again  without  thinking  of  these  sad,  sad  days. 
He  was  buried  Monday  afternoon,  May  2,  from  the 
Congregational  church,  and  Dr.  Daggett  preached 
a  sermon  from  a  favorite  text  of  Grandfather's,  "  I 
shall  die  in  my  nest."  James  and  John  came  and 
as  we  stood  with  dear  Grandmother  and  all  the 
others  around  his  open  grave  and  heard  Dr.  Daggett 
say  in  his  beautiful  sympathetic  voice,  "  Earth  to 
earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust,"  we  felt  that 
we  were  losing  our  best  friend;  but  he  told  us 
that  we  must  live  for  Grandmother  and  so  we 
will. 

The  next  Sabbath,  Anna  and  I  were  called  out  of 
church  by  a  messenger,  who  said  that  Grandmother 
was  taken  suddenly  ill  and  was  dying.  When  we 
reached  the  house  attendants  were  all  about  her 
administering  restoratives,  but  told  us  she  was  rap- 
idly sinking.  I  asked  if  I  might  speak  to  her  and 
was  reluctantly  permitted,  as  they  thought  best  not 
to  disturb  her.  I  sat  down  by  her  and  with  tearful 
voice  said,  "  Grandmother,  don't  you  know  that 
Grandfather  said  we  were  to  care  for  you  and  you 
were  to  care  for  us  and  if  you  die  we  cannot  do  as 
Grandfather  said?"  She  opened  her  eyes  and 
looked  at  me  and  said  quietly,  "  Dry  your  eyes,  child, 
I  shall  not  die  to-day  or  to-morrow."  She  seems 
well  now. 


i66  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1864 

Inscribed  in  my  diary : 

"  They  are  passing  away,  they  are  passing  away, 
Not  only  the  young,  but  the  aged  and  gray. 
Their  places  are  vacant,  no  longer  we  see 
The  armchair  in  waiting,  as  it  used  to  be. 
The  hat  and  the  coat  are  removed  from  the  nail, 
Where  for  years  they  have  hung,  every  day  without 

fail. 

The  shoes  and  the  slippers  are  needed  no  more, 
Nor  kept  ready  waiting,  as  they  were  of  yore, 
The  desk  which  he  stood  at  in  manhood's   fresh 

prime, 

Which  now  shows  the  marks  of  the  ringer  of  time, 
The  bright  well  worn  keys,  which  were  childhood's 

delight 

Unlocking  the  treasures  kept  hidden  from  sight. 
These  now  are  mementoes  of  him  who  has  passed, 
Who  stands  there  no  longer,  as  we  saw  him  last. 
Other  hands  turn  the  keys,  as  he  did,  before, 
Other  eyes  will  his  secrets,  if  any,  explore. 
The  step  once  elastic,  but  feeble  of  late. 
No  longer  we  watch  for  through  doorway  or  gate, 
Though  often  we  turn,  half  expecting  to  see, 
The  loved  one  approaching,  but  ah !  'tis  not  he. 
We  miss  him  at  all  times,  at  morn  when  we  meet, 
For  the  social  repast,  there  is  one  vacant  seat. 
At  noon,  and  at  night,  at  the  hour  of  prayer, 
Our  hearts  fill  with  sadness,  one  voice  is  not  there. 
Yet  not  without  hope  his  departure  we  mourn, 
In  faith  and  in  trust,  all  our  sorrows  are  borne, 
Borne  upward  to  Him  who  in  kindness  and  love 
Sends  earthly  afflictions  to  draw  us  above. 
Thus  hoping  and  trusting,  rejoicing,  we'll  go, 
Both  upward  and  onward  through  weal  and  through 

woe 


1864]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  167 

'Till  all  of  life's  changes  and  conflicts  are  past 
Beyond  the  dark  river,  to  meet  him  at  last." 

Un  flDemoriam 

Thomas  Beals  died  in  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.,  on 
Saturday,  April  3Oth,  1864,  in  the  8ist  year  of  his 
age.  Mr.  Beals  was  born  in  Boston,  Mass.,  No- 
vember 13,  1783. 

He  came  to  this  village  in  October,  1803,  only 
14  years  after  the  first  settlement  of  the  place.  He 
was  married  in  March,  1805,  to  Abigail  Field,  sis- 
ter of  the  first  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church 
here.  Her  family,  in  several  of  its  branches,  have 
since  been  distinguished  in  the  ministry,  the  legal 
profession,  and  in  commercial  enterprise. 

Living  to  a  good  old  age,  and  well  known  as  one 
of  our  most  wealthy  and  respected  citizens,  Mr. 
Beals  is  another  added  to  the  many  examples  of  suc- 
cessful men  who,  by  energy  and  industry,  have  made 
their  own  fortune. 

On  coming  to  this  village,  he  was  teacher  in  the 
Academy  for  a  time,  and  afterward  entered  into 
mercantile  business,  in  which  he  had  his  share  of 
vicissitude.  When  the  Ontario  Savings  Bank  was 
established,  1832,  he  became  the  Treasurer,  and 
managed  it  successfully  till  the  institution  ceased,  in 
!835>  with  his  withdrawal.  In  the  meantime  he 
conducted,  also,  a  banking  business  of  his  own,  and 
this  was  continued  until  a  week  previous  to  his 
death,  when  he  formally  withdrew,  though  for  the 


168  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1864 

last  five  years  devolving  its  more  active  duties  upon 
his  son. 

As  a  banker,  his  sagacity  and  fidelity  won  for 
him  the  confidence  and  respect  of  all  classes  of  per- 
sons in  this  community.  The  business  portion  of 
our  village  is  very  much  indebted  to  his  enterprise 
for  the  eligible  structures  he  built  that  have  more 
than  made  good  the  losses  sustained  by  fires.  More 
than  fifty  years  ago  he  was  actively  concerned  in  the 
building  of  the  Congregational  church,  and  also 
superintended  the  erection  of  the  county  jail  and 
almshouse;  for  many  years  a  trustee  of  Canan- 
daigua  Academy,  and  trustee  and  treasurer  of  the 
Congregational  church.  At  the  time  of  his  death 
he  and  his  wife,  who  survives  him,  were  the  oldest 
members  of  the  church,  having  united  with  it  in 
1807,  only  eight  years  after  its  organization.  Until 
hindered  by  the  infirmities  of  age,  he  was  a  constant 
attendant  of  its  services  and  ever  devoutly  main- 
tained the  worship  of  God  in  his  family.  No  per- 
son has  been  more  generally  known  among  all  classes 
of  our  citizens.  Whether  at  home  or  abroad  he 
could  not  fail  to  be  remarked  for  his  gravity  and 
dignity.  His  character  was  original,  independent, 
and  his  manners  remarkable  for  a  dignified  courtesy. 
Our  citizens  were  familiar  with  his  brief,  emphatic 
answers  with  the  wave  of  his  hand.  He  was  fond 
of  books,  a  great  reader,  collected  a  valuable  number 
of  volumes,  and  was  happy  in  the  use  of  language 
both  in  writing  and  conversation.  In  many  unusual 


1864]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  169 

ways  he  often  showed  his  kind  consideration  for  the 
poor  and  afflicted,  and  many  persons  hearing  of  his 
death  gratefully  recollect  instances,  not  known  to 
others,  of  his  seasonable  kindness  to  them  in  trou- 
ble. In  his  charities  he  often  studied  concealment 
as  carefully  as  others  court  display.  His  marked 
individuality  of  character  and  deportment,  together 
with  his  shrewd  discernment  and  active  habits, 
could  not  fail  to  leave  a  distinct  impression  on  the 
minds  of  all. 

For  more  than  sixty  years  he  transacted  business 
in  one  place  here,  and  his  long  life  thus  teaches  more 
than  one  generation  the  value  of  sobriety,  diligence, 
fidelity  and  usefulness. 

In  his  last  illness  he  remarked  to  a  friend  that  he 
always  loved  Canandaigua ;  had  done  several  things 
for  its  prosperity,  and  had  intended  to  do  more. 
He  had  known  his  measure  of  affliction;  only  four 
of  eleven  children  survive  him,  but  children  and  chil- 
dren's children  ministered  to  the  comfort  of  his  last 
days.  Notwithstanding  his  years  and  infirmities, 
he  was  able  to  visit  New  York,  returning  April  i8th 
quite  unwell,  but  not  immediately  expecting  a  fatal 
termination.  As  the  final  event  drew  near,  he 
seemed  happily  prepared  to  meet  it.  He  conversed 
freely  with  his  friends  and  neighbors  in  a  softened 
and  benignant  spirit,  at  once  receiving  and  impart- 
ing benedictions.  His  end  seemed  to  realize  his 
favorite  citation  from  Job :  "  I  shall  die  in  my 
nest." 


i;o          VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1864 

His  funeral  was  attended  on  Monday  in  the  Con- 
gregational church  by  a  large  assembly,  Dr.  Dag- 
gett,  the  pastor,  officiating  on  the  occasion. — Writ- 
ten by  Dr.  O.  E.  Daggett  in  1864. 

May. — The  4th  New  York  Heavy  Artillery  is 
having  hard  times  in  the  Virginia  mud  and  rain. 
They  are  near  Culpeper.  It  is  such  a  change  from 
their  snug  winter  quarters  at  Fort  Ethan  Allen. 
There  are  2,800  men  in  the  Regiment  and  1,200  are 
sick.  Dr.  Charles  S.  Hoyt  of  the  i26th,  which  is 
camping  close  by,  has  come  to  the  help  of  these  new 
recruits  so  kindly  as  to  win  every  heart,  quite  in 
contrast  to  the  heartlessness  of  their  own  surgeons. 
They  will  always  love  him  for  this.  It  is  just  like 
him. 

June  22. — Captain  Morris  Brown,  of  Penn  Yan, 
was  killed  to-day  by  a  musket  shot  in  the  head, 
while  commanding  the  regiment  before  Petersburg. 

June  23,  1864. — Anna  graduated  last  Thursday, 
June  16,  and  was  valedictorian  of  her  class.  There 
were  eleven  girls  in  the  class,  Ritie  Tyler,  Mary 
Antes,  Jennie  Robinson,  Hattie  Paddock,  Lillie 
Masters,  Abbie  Hills,  Miss  McNair,  Miss  Pardee 
and  Miss  Palmer,  Miss  Jasper  and  Anna.  The  sub- 
ject of  her  essay  was  "  The  Last  Time."  I  will 
copy  an  account  of  the  exercises  as  they  appeared 


1864]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  171 

in  this  week's  village  paper.     Every  one  thinks  it 
was  written  by  Mr.  E.  M.  Morse. 

A  WORD  FROM  AN  OLD  MAN 

"  MR.  EDITOR  : 

"  Less  than  a  century  ago  I  was  traveling  through 
this  enchanted  region  and  accidentally  heard  that  it 
was  commencement  week  at  the  seminary.  I  went. 
My  venerable  appearance  seemed  to  command  respect 
and  I  received  many  attentions.  I  presented  my  snowy 
head  and  patriarchal  beard  at  the  doors  of  the  sacred 
institution  and  was  admitted.  I  heard  all  the  classes, 
primary,  secondary,  tertiary,  et  cetera.  All  went 
merry  as  a  marriage  bell.  Thursday  was  the  great 
day.  I  made  vast  preparation.  I  rose  early,  dressed 
with  much  care.  I  affectionately  pressed  the  hands 
of  my  two  landlords  and  left.  When  I  arrived  at 
the  seminary  I  saw  at  a  glance  that  it  was  a  place 
where  true  merit  was  appreciated.  I  was  invited  to 
a  seat  among  the  dignitaries^  but  declined.  I  am  a 
modest  man,  I  always  was.  I  recognized  the  benign 
Principals  of  the  school.  You  can  find  no  better  prin- 
ciples in  the  states  than  in  Ontario  Female  Seminary. 
After  the  report  of  the  committee  a  very  lovely  young 
lady  arose  and  saluted  us  in  Latin.  I  looked  very 
wise,  I  always  do.  So  did  everybody.  We  all  under- 
stood it.  As  she  proceeded,  I  thought  the  grand  old 
Roman  tongue  had  never  sounded  so  musically  and 
when  she  pronounced  the  decree,  '  Richmond  delenda 
est,'  we  all  hoped  it  might  be  prophetic.  Then  fol- 
lowed the  essays  of  the  other  young  ladies  and  then 
every  one  waited  anxiously  for  '  The  Last  Time.' 
At  last  it  came.  The  story  was  beautifully  told,  the 
adieux  were  tenderly  spoken.  We  saw  the  withered 


172  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1864 

flowers  of  early  years  scattered  along  the  academic 
ways,  and  the  golden  fruit  of  scholarly  culture  ripen- 
ing in  the  gardens  of  the  future.  Enchanted  by  the 
sorrowful  eloquence,  bewildered  by  the  melancholy 
brilliancy,  I  sent  a  rosebud  to  the  charming  valedic- 
torian and  wandered  out  into  the  grounds.  I  went 
to  the  concert  in  the  evening  and  was  pleased  and 
delighted.  So  was  everybody.  I  shall  return  next 
year  unless  the  gout  carries  me  off.  I  hope  I  shall 
hear  just  such  beautiful  music,  see  just  such  beautiful 
faces  and  dine  at  the  same  excellent  hotel. 

SENEX." 


Anna  closed  her  valedictory  with  these  words : 

"  May  we  meet  at  one  gate  when  all's  over ; 

The  ways  they  are  many  and  wide, 
And  seldom  are  two  ways  the  same  ; 

Side  by  side  may  we  stand 
At  the  same  little  door  when  all's  done. 
The  ways  they  are  many, 
The  end  it  is  one." 

July  10. — We  have  had  word  of  the  death  of 
Spencer  F.  Lincoln.  One  more  brave  soldier  sacri- 
ficed. 

'August. — The  New  York  State  S.  S.  Convention 
was  held  in  Buffalo  and  among  others  Fanny  Gay- 
lord,  Mary  Field  and  myself  attended.  We  had  a 
fine  time  and  were  entertained  at  the  home  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Sexton.  Her  mother  is  living  with  her, 
a  dear  old  lady  who  was  Judge  Atwater's  daughter 


1864]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  173 

and  used  to  go  to  school  to  Grandfather  Beals.  We 
went  with  other  delegates  on  an  excursion  to 
Niagara  Falls  and  went  into  the  express  office  at  the 
R.  R.  station  to  see  Grant  Schley,  who  is  express 
agent  there.  He  said  it  seemed  good  to  see  so  many 
home  faces. 

September  I. — My  war  letters  come  from  George- 
town Hospital  now.  Mr.  Noah  T.  Clarke  is  very 
anxious  and  sends  telegrams  to  Andrew  Chesebro 
every  day  to  go  and  see  his  brother. 

September  30. — To-day  the  "  Benjamin  "  of  the 
family  reached  home  under  the  care  of  Dr.  J.  Byron 
Hayes,  who  was  sent  to  Washington  after  him.  I 
went  over  to  Mr.  Noah  T.  Clarke's  to  see  him  and 
found  him  just  a  shadow  of  his  former  self.  How- 
ever, "  hope  springs  eternal  in  the  human  breast  " 
and  he  says  he  knows  he  will  soon  be  well  again. 
This  is  his  thirtieth  birthday  and  it  is  glorious  that 
he  can  spend  it  at  home. 

October  i. — Mr.  Noah  T.  Clarke  accompanied 
his  brother  to-day  to  the  old  home  in  Naples  and 
found  two  other  soldier  brothers,  William  and  Jo- 
seph, had  just  arrived  on  leave  of  absence  from  the 
army  so  the  mother's  heart  sang  "  Praise  God  from 
whom  all  blessings  flow."  The  fourth  brother  has 
also  returned  to  his  home  in  Illinois,  disabled. 


174  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1864 

November. — They  are  holding  Union  Revival 
Services  in  town  now.  One  evangelist  from  out  of 
town  said  he  would  call  personally  at  the  homes  and 
ask  if  all  were  Christians.  Anna  told  Grandmother 
if  he  came  here  she  should  tell  him  about  her. 
Grandmother  said  we  must  each  give  an  account 
for  ourselves.  Anna  said  she  should  tell  him  about 
her  little  Grandmother  anyway.  We  saw  him  com- 
ing up  the  walk  about  1 1  A.M.  and  Anna  went  to 
the  door  and  asked  him  in.  They  sat  down  in  the 
parlor  and  he  remarked  about  the  pleasant  weather 
and  Canandaigua  such  a  beautiful  town  and  the  peo- 
ple so  cultured.  She  said  yes,  she  found  the  town 
every  way  desirable  and  the  people  pleasant,  though 
she  had  heard  it  remarked  that  strangers  found  it 
hard  to  get  acquainted  and  that  you  had  to  have 
a  residence  above  the  R.  R.  track  and  give  a  satis- 
factory answer  as  to  who  your  Grandfather  was, 
before  admittance  was  granted  to  the  best  society. 
He  said  he  had  been  kindly  received  everywhere. 
She  said  "  everybody  likes  ministers."  (He  was 
quite  handsome  and  young.)  He  asked  her  how 
long  she  had  lived  here  and  she  told  him  nearly  all 
of  her  brief  existence!  She  said  if  he  had  asked 
her  how  old  she  was  she  would  have  told  him  she 
was  so  young  that  Will  Adams  last  May  was  ap- 
pointed her  guardian.  He  asked  how  many  there 
were  in  the  family  and  she  said  her  Grandmother, 
her  sister  and  herself.  He  said,  "  They  are  Chris- 
tians, I  suppose."  "  Yes,"  she  said,  "  my  sister  is  a 


1864]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  175 

S.  S.  teacher  and  my  Grandmother  was  born  a 
Christian,  about  80  years  ago."  "  Indeed,"  he  said. 
"  I  would  like  to  see  her."  Anna  said  she  would 
have  to  be  excused  as  she  seldom  saw  company. 
When  he  arose  to  go  he  said,  "  My  dear  young  lady, 
I  trust  that  you  are  a  Christian."  "  Mercy  yes," 
she  said,  "  years  ago."  He  said  he  was  very  glad 
and  hoped  she  would  let  her  light  shine.  She  said 
that  was  what  she  was  always  doing — that  the  other 
night  at  a  revival  meeting  she  sang  every  verse  of 
every  hymn  and  came  home  feeling  as  though  she 
had  herself  personally  rescued  by  hand  at  least  fifty 
"  from  sin  and  the  grave."  He  smiled  approvingly 
and  bade  her  good  bye.  She  told  Grandmother  she 
presumed  he  would  say  "  he  had  not  found  so  great 
faith,  no  not  in  Israel." 

We  have  Teachers'  meetings  now  and  Mrs. 
George  Wilson  leads  and  instructs  us  on  the  Sunday 
School  lesson  for  the  following  Sunday.  We  met 
at  Mrs.  Worthington's  this  evening.  I  think  Mrs. 
Wilson  knows  Barnes'  notes,  Cruden's  Concordance, 
the  Westminster  Catechism  and  the  Bible  from  be- 
ginning to  end. 


1 865 

March  5. — I  have  just  read  President  Lincoln's 
second  inaugural  address.  It  only  takes  five  min- 
utes to  read  it  but,  oh,  how  much  it  contains. 

March  20. — Hardly  a  day  passes  that  we  do  not 
hear  news  of  Union  victories.  Every  one  predicts 
that  the  war  is  nearly  at  an  end. 

March  29. — An  officer  arrived  here  from  the 
front  yesterday  and  he  said  that,  on  Saturday  morn- 
ing, shortly  after  the  battle  commenced  which  re- 
sulted so  gloriously  for  the  Union  in  front  of  Peters- 
burg, President  Lincoln,  accompanied  by  General 
Grant  and  staff,  started  for  the  battlefield,  and 
reached  there  in  time  to  witness  the  close  of  the 
contest  and  the  bringing  in  of  the  prisoners.  His 
presence  was  immediately  recognized  and  created 
the  most  intense  enthusiasm.  He  afterwards  rode 
over  the  battlefield,  listened  to  the  report  of  General 
Parke  to  General  Grant,  and  added  his  thanks  for 
the  great  service  rendered  in  checking  the  onslaught 
of  the  rebels  and  in  capturing  so  many  of  their  num- 
ber. I  read  this  morning  the  order  of  Secretary 
Stanton  for  the  flag  raising  on  Fort  Sumter.  It 
reads  thus :  "  War  department,  Adjutant  General's 

176 


i86s]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  177 

office,  Washington,  March  27th,  1865,  General  Or- 
ders No.  50.  Ordered,  first :  That  at  the  hour  of 
noon,  on  the  I4th  day  of  April,  1865,  Brevet  Major 
General  Anderson  will  raise  and  plant  upon  the 
ruins  of  Fort  Sumter,  in  Charleston  Harbor,  the 
same  U.  S.  Flag  which  floated  over  the  battlements 
of  this  fort  during  the  rebel  assault,  and  which  was 
lowered  and  saluted  by  him  and  the  small  force  of 
his  command  when  the  works  were  evacuated  on  the 
14th  day  of  April,  1861.  Second,  That  the  flag, 
when  raised  be  saluted  by  100  guns  from  Fort  Sum- 
ter and  by  a  national  salute  from  every  fort  and 
rebel  battery  that  fired  upon  Fort  Sumter.  Third, 
That  suitable  ceremonies  be  had  upon  the  occasion, 
under  the  direction  of  Major-General  William  T. 
Sherman,  whose  military  operations  compelled  the 
rebels  to  evacuate  Charleston,  or,  in  his  absence, 
under  the  charge  of  Major-General  Q.  A.  Gillmore, 
commanding  the  department.  Among  the  ceremo- 
nies will  be  the  delivery  of  a  public  address  by  the 
Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  Fourth,  That  the  naval 
forces  at  Charleston  and  their  Commander  on  that 
station  be  invited  to  participate  in  the  ceremonies 
of  the  occasion.  By  order  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  E.  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of 
War." 

April,  1865. — What  a  month  this  has  been.  On 
the  6th  of  April  Governor  Fenton  issued  this  procla- 
mation :  "  Richmond  has  fallen.  The  wicked  men 


178  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1865 

who  governed  the  so-called  Confederate  States  have 
fled  their  capital,  shorn  of  their  power  and  influence. 
The  rebel  armies  have  been  defeated,  broken  and 
scattered.  Victory  everywhere  attends  our  ban- 
ners and  our  armies,  and  we  are  rapidly  moving  to 
the  closing  scenes  of  the  war.  Through  the  self- 
sacrifice  and  heroic  devotion  of  our  soldiers,  the 
life  of  the  republic  has  been  saved  and  the  American 
Union  preserved.  I,  Reuben  E.  Fenton,  Governor 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  do  designate  Friday,  the 
I4th  of  April,  the  day  appointed  for  the  cere- 
mony of  raising  the  United  States  flag  on  Fort 
Sumter,  as  a  day  of  Thanksgiving,  prayer  and  praise 
to  Almighty  God,  for  the  signal  blessings  we  have 
received  at  His  hands." 

Saturday,,  April  8. — The  cannon  has  fired  a  salute 
of  thirty-six  guns  to  celebrate  the  fall  of  Richmond. 
This  evening  the  streets  were  thronged  with  men, 
women  and  children  all  acting  crazy  as  if  they  had 
not  the  remotest  idea  where  they  were  or  what  they 
were  doing.  Atwater  block  was  beautifully  lighted 
and  the  band  was  playing  in  front  of  it.  On  the 
square  they  fired  guns,  and  bonfires  were  lighted  in 
the  streets.  Gov.  Clark's  house  was  lighted  from 
the  very  garret  and  they  had  a  transparency  in  front, 
with  "  Richmond "  on  it,  which  Fred  Thompson 
made.  We  didn't  even  light  "  our  other  candle," 
for  Grandmother  said  she  preferred  to  keep  Satur- 
day night  and  pity  and  pray  for  the  poor  suffering, 


1865]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  179 

wounded  soldiers,  who  are  so  apt  to  be  forgotten  in 
the  hour  of  victory. 


Sunday  Evening,  April  9. — There  were  great 
crowds  at  church  this  morning.  Dr.  Daggett's  text 
was  from  Prov.  18:  10:  "  The  name  of  the  Lord 
is  a  strong  tower;  the  righteous  runneth  into  it, 
and  is  safe."  It  was  a  very  fine  sermon.  They 
sang  hymns  relating  to  our  country  and  Dr.  Dag- 
gett's prayers  were  full  of  thanksgiving.  Mr.  Noah 
T.  Clarke  had  the  chapel  decorated  with  flags  and 
opened  the  Sunday  School  by  singing,  "  Marching 
On,"  "  My  Country,  'tis  of  Thee,"  "  The  Star 
Spangled  Banner,"  "  Glory,  Hallelujah,"  etc.  Hon. 
Wm.  H.  Lamport  talked  very  pleasantly  and  paid  a 
very  touching  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  boys, 
who  had  gone  out  to  defend  their  country,  who 
would  never  come  "  marching  home  again."  He 
lost  his  only  son,  18  years  old  (in  the  I26th),  about 
two  years  ago.  I  sat  near  Mary  and  Emma 
Wheeler  and  felt  so  sorry  for  them.  They  could 
not  sing. 

Monday  Morning,  April  10. — "  Whether  I  am  in 
the  body,  or  out  of  the  body,  I  know  not,  but  one 
thing  I  know,"  Lee  has  surrendered!  and  all  the 
people  seem  crazy  in  consequence.  The  bells  are 
ringing,  boys  and  girls,  men  and  women  are  run- 
ning through  the  streets  wild  with  excitement;  the 


i8o  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1865 

flags  are  all  flying,  one  from  the  top  of  our  church, 
and  such  a  "  hurrah  boys "  generally,  I  never 
dreamed  of.  We  were  quietly  eating  our  breakfast 
this  morning  about  7  o'clock,  when  our  church  bell 
commenced  to  ring,  then  the  Methodist  bell,  and  now 
all  the  bells  in  town  are  ringing.  Mr.  Noah  T. 
Clarke  ran  by,  all  excitement,  and  I  don't  believe 
he  knows  where  he  is.  No  school  to-day.  I  saw 
Capt.  Aldrich  passing,  so  I  rushed  to  the  window 
and  he  waved  his  hat.  I  raised  the  window 
and  asked  him  what  was  the  matter?  He  came  to 
the  front  door  where  I  met  him  and  he  almost  shook 
my  hand  off  and  said,  "  The  war  is  over.  We  have 
Lee's  surrender,  with  his  own  name  signed."  I  am 
going  down  town  now,  to  see  for  myself,  what  is 
going  on.  Later — I  have  returned  and  I  never  saw 
such  performances  in  my  life.  Every  man  has  a 
bell  or  a  horn,  and  every  girl  a  flag  and  a  little  bell, 
and  every  one  is  tied  with  red,  white  and  blue  rib- 
bons. I  am  going  down  town  again  now,  with  my 
flag  in  one  hand  and  bell  in  the  other  and  make  all 
the  noise  I  can.  Mr.  Noah  T.  Clarke  and  other 
leading  citizens  are  riding  around  on  a  dray  cart 
with  great  bells  in  their  hands  ringing  them  as  hard 
as  they  can.  Dr.  Cook  beat  upon  an  old  gong. 
The  latest  musical  instrument  invented  is  called  the 
"  Jerusalem  fiddle."  Some  boys  put  a  dry  goods 
box  upon  a  cart,  put  some  rosin  on  the  edge  of  the 
box  and  pulled  a  piece  of  timber  back  and  forth 
across  it,  making  most  unearthly  sounds.  They 


1865]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  181 

drove  through  all  the  streets,  Ed  Lampman  riding 
on  the  horse  and  driving  it. 

Monday  evening,  April  10. — I  have  been  out 
walking  for  the  last  hour  and  a  half,  looking  at  the 
brilliant  illuminations,  transparencies  and  every- 
thing else  and  I  don't  believe  I  was  ever  so  tired  in 
my  life.  The  bells  have  not  stopped  ringing  more 
than  five  minutes  all  day  and  every  one  is  glad  to 
see  Canandaigua  startled  out  of  its  propriety  for 
once.  Every  yard  of  red,  white  and  blue  ribbon  in 
the  stores  has  been  sold,  also  every  candle  and  every 
flag.  One  society  worked  hard  all  the  afternoon 
making  transparencies  and  then  there  were  no  can- 
dles to  put  in  to  light  them,  but  they  will  be  ready 
for  the  next  celebration  when  peace  is  proclaimed. 
The  Court  House,  Atwater  Block,  and  hotel  have 
about  two  dozen  candles  in  each  window  throughout, 
besides  flags  and  mottoes  of  every  description.  It 
is  certainly  the  best  impromptu  display  ever  gotten 
up  in  this  town.  "  Victory  is  Grant-ed,"  is  in  large 
red,  white  and  blue  letters  in  front  of  Atwater 
Block.  The  speeches  on  the  square  this  morning 
were  all  very  good.  Dr.  Daggett  commenced  with 
prayer,  and  such  a  prayer,  I  wish  all  could  have 
heard  it.  Hon.  Francis  Granger,  E.  G.  Lapham, 
Judge  Smith,  Alexander  Howell,  Noah  T.  Clarke 
and  others  made  speeches  and  we  sang  "  Old  Hun- 
dred "  in  conclusion,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Hibbard  dis- 
missed us  with  the  benediction.  I  shook  hands  with 


182  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1865 

Mr.  Noah  T.  Clarke,  but  he  told  me  to  be  careful  and 
not  hurt  him,  for  he  blistered  his  hands  to-day  ring- 
ing that  bell.  He  says  he  is  going  to  keep  the  bell 
for  his  grandchildren.  Between  the  speeches  on  the 
square  this  morning  a  song  was  called  for  and  Gus 
Coleman  mounted  the  steps  and  started  "  John 
Brown  "  and  all  the  assembly  joined  in  the  chorus, 
"  Glory,  Hallelujah."  This  has  been  a  never  to  be 
forgotten  day. 

April  15. — The  news  came  this  morning  that  our 
dear  president,  Abraham  Lincoln,  was  assassinated 
yesterday,  on  the  day  appointed  for  thanksgiving 
for  Union  victories.  I  have  felt  sick  over  it  all  day 
and  so  has  every  one  that  I  have  seen.  All  seem 
to  feel  as  though  they  had  lost  a  personal  friend, 
and  tears  flow  plenteously.  How  soon  has  sorrow 
followed  upon  the  heels  of  joy !  One  week  ago  to- 
night we  were  celebrating  our  victories  with  loud 
acclamations  of  mirth  and  good  cheer.  Now  every 
one  is  silent  and  sad  and  the  earth  and  heavens  seem 
clothed  in  sack-cloth.  The  bells  have  been  tolling 
this  afternoon.  The  flags  are  all  at  half  mast, 
draped  with  mourning,  and  on  every  store  and 
dwelling-house  some  sign  of  the  nation's  loss  is 
visible.  Just  after  breakfast  this  morning,  I  looked 
out  of  the  window  and  saw  a  group  of  men  listening 
to  the  reading  of  a  morning  paper,  and  I  feared 
from  their  silent,  motionless  interest  that  something 
dreadful  had  happened,  but  I  was  not  prepared  to 


1865]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  183 

hear  of  the  cowardly  murder  of  our  President. 
And  William  H.  Seward,  too,  I  suppose  cannot  sur- 
vive his  wounds.  Oh,  how  horrible  it  is!  I  went 
down  town  shortly  after  I  heard  the  news,  and  it 
was  wonderful  to  see  the  effect  of  the  intelligence 
upon  everybody,  small  or  great,  rich  or  poor. 
Every  one  was  talking  low,  with  sad  and  anxious 
looks.  But  we  know  that  God  still  reigns  and  will 
do  what  is  best  for  us  all.  Perhaps  we're  "  putting 
our  trust  too  much  in  princes,"  forgetting  the  Great 
Ruler,  who  alone  can  create  or  destroy,  and  there- 
fore He  has  taken  from  us  the  arm  of  flesh  that 
we  may  lean  more  confidingly  and  entirely  upon 
Him.  I  trust  that  the  men  who  committed 
these  foul  deeds  will  soon  be  brought  to  jus- 
tice. 

Sunday,  Easter  Day,  'April  16. — I  went  to  church 
this  morning.  The  pulpit  and  choir-loft  were  cov- 
ered with  flags  festooned  with  crape.  Although  a 
very  disagreeable  day,  the  house  was  well  filled. 
The  first  hymn  sung  was  "  Oh  God  our  help  in  ages 
past,  our  hope  for  years  to  come."  Dr.  Daggett's 
prayer,  I  can  never  forget,  he  alluded  so  beautifully 
to  the  nation's  loss,  and  prayed  so  fervently  that  the 
God  of  our  fathers  might,  still  be  our  God,  through 
every  calamity  or  affliction,  however  severe  or  mys- 
terious. All  seemed  as  deeply  affected  as  though 
each  one  had  been  suddenly  bereft  of  his  best 
friend.  The  hymn  sung  after  the  prayer,  com- 


1 84  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1865 

menced  with  "  Yes,  the  Redeemer  rose."  Dr.  Dag- 
gett  said  that  he  had  intended  to  preach  a  sermon 
upon  the  resurrection.  He  read  the  psalm  begin- 
ning, "  Lord,  Thou  hast  been  our  dwelling-place  in 
all  generations."  His  text  was  "  That  our  faith 
and  hope  might  be  in  God."  He  commenced  by 
saying,  "  I  feel  as  you  feel  this  morning :  our  sad 
hearts  have  all  throbbed  in  unison  since  yesterday 
morning  when  the  telegram  announced  to  us  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  is  shot."  He  said  the  last  week  would 
never  be  forgotten,  for  never  had  any  of  us  seen 
one  come  in  with  so  much  joy,  that  went  out  with 
so  much  sorrow.  His  whole  sermon  related  to  the 
President's  life  and  death,  and,  in  conclusion,  he 
exhorted  us  not  to  be  despondent,  for  he  was  con- 
fident that  the  ship  of  state  would  not  go  down, 
though  the  helmsman  had  suddenly  been  taken  away 
while  the  promised  land  was  almost  in  view.  He 
prayed  for  our  new  President,  that  he  might  be  filled 
with  grace  and  power  from  on  High,  to  perform 
his  high  and  holy  trust.  On  Thursday  we  are  to 
have  a  union  meeting  in  our  church,  but  it  will  not 
be  the  day  of  general  rejoicing  and  thanksgiving  we 
expected.  All  noisy  demonstrations  will  be  omitted. 
In  Sunday  school  the  desk  was  draped  with  mourn- 
ing, and  the  flag  at  half-mast  was  also  festooned 
with  crape.  Mr.  Noah  T.  Clarke  opened  the  exer- 
cises with  the  hymn  "  He  leadeth  me,"  followed  by 
"  Though  the  days  are  dark  with  sorrow,"  "  We 
know  not  what's  before  us,"  "  My  days  are  gliding 


1865]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  185 

swiftly  by."  Then,  Mr.  Clarke  said  that  we  always 
meant  to  sing  "  America,"  after  every  victory,  and 
last  Monday  he  was  wondering  if  we  would  not 
have  to  sing  it  twice  to-day,  or  add  another  verse, 
but  our  feelings  have  changed  since  then.  Never- 
theless he  thought  we  had  better  sing  "  America," 
for  we  certainly  ought  to  love  our  country  more 
than  ever,  now  that  another,  and  such  another,  mar- 
tyr, had  given  up  his  life  for  it.  So  we  sang  it. 
Then  he  talked  to  the  children  and  said  that  last 
Friday  was  supposed  to  be  the  anniversary  of  the 
day  upon  which  our  Lord  was  crucified,  and  though, 
at  the  time  the  dreadful  deed  was  committed,  every 
one  felt  the  day  to  be  the  darkest  one  the  earth 
ever  knew;  yet  since  then,  the  day  has  been  called 
"  Good  Friday,"  for  it  was  the  death  of  Christ 
which  gave  life  everlasting  to  all  the  people.  So  he 
thought  that  life  would  soon  come  out  of  darkness, 
which  now  overshadows  us  all,  and  that  the 
death  of  Abraham  Lincoln  might  yet  prove 
the  nation's  life  in  God's  own  most  mysterious 
way. 

Wednesday  evening,  April  19,  1865. — This  being 
the  day  set  for  the  funeral  of  Abraham  Lincoln  at 
Washington,  it  was  decided  to  hold  the  service  to- 
day, instead  of  Thursday,  as  previously  announced 
in  the  Congregational  church.  All  places  of  busi- 
ness were  closed  and  the  bells  of  the  village  churches 
tolled  from  half  past  ten  till  eleven  o'clock.  It  is 


1 86          VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1865 

the  fourth  anniversary  of  the  first  bloodshed  of  the 
war  at  Baltimore.  It  was  said  to-day,  that  while 
the  services  were  being  held  in  the  White  House 
and  Lincoln's  body  lay  in  state  under  the  dome 
of  the  capitol,  that  more  than  twenty-five  millions 
of  people  all  over  the  civilized  world  were  gathered 
in  their  churches  weeping  over  the  death  of  the  mar- 
tyred President.  We  met  at  our  church  at  half 
after  ten  o'clock  this  morning.  The  bells  tolled 
until  eleven  o'clock,  when  the  services  commenced. 
The  church  was  beautifully  decorated  with  flags 
and  black  and  white  cloth,  wreaths,  mottoes  and 
flowers,  the  galleries  and  all.  The  whole  effect 
was  fine.  There  was  a  shield  beneath  the  arch 
of  the  pulpit  with  this  text  upon  it :  "  The  mem- 
ory of  the  just  is  blessed."  It  was  beautiful. 
Under  the  choir-loft  the  picture  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  hung  amid  the  flags  and  drapery.  The 
motto,  beneath  the  gallery,  was  this  text :  "  Know 
ye  that  the  Lord  He  is  God."  The  four  pastors 
of  the  place  walked  in  together  and  took  seats  upon 
the  platform,  which  was  constructed  for  the  occa- 
sion. The  choir  chanted  "  Lord,  Thou  hast  been 
our  dwelling-place  in  all  generations,"  and  then  the 
Episcopal  rector,  Rev.  Mr.  Leffingwell,  read  from 
the  psalter,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Daggett  followed  with 
prayer.  Judge  Taylor  was  then  called  upon  for 
a  short  address,  and  he  spoke  well,  as  he  always 
does.  The  choir  sang  "  God  is  our  refuge  and  our 
strength." 


i86s]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  187 

Thursday,  April  20. — The  papers  are  full  of  the 
account  of  the  funeral  obsequies  of  President  Lin- 
coln. We  take  Harper's  Weekly  and  every  event 
is  pictured  so  vividly  it  seems  as  though  we  were  eye 
witnesses  of  it  all.  The  picture  of  "  Lincoln  at 
home  "  is  beautiful.  What  a  dear,  kind  man  he 
was.  It  is  a  comfort  to  know  that  the  assassination 
was  not  the  outcome  of  an  organized  plot  of 
Southern  leaders,  but  rather  a  conspiracy  of  a  few 
fanatics,  who  undertook  in  this  way  to  avenge  the 
defeat  of  their  cause.  It  is  rumored  that  one  of 
the  conspirators  has  been  located. 

April  24. — Fannie  Gaylord  and  Kate  Lapham 
have  returned  from  their  eastern  trip  and  told  us 
of  attending  the  President's  funeral  in  Albany,  and 
I  had  a  letter  from  Bessie  Seymour,  who  is  in  New 
York,  saying  that  she  walked  in  the  procession  until 
half  past  two  in  the  morning,  in  order  to  see  his 
face.  They  say  that  they  never  saw  him  in  life,  but 
in  death  he  looked  just  as  all  the  pictures  represent 
him.  We  all  wear  Lincoln  badges  now,  with  pin 
attached.  They  are  pictures  of  Lincoln  upon  a  tiny 
flag,  bordered  with  crape.  Susie  Daggett  has  just 
made  herself  a  flag,  six  feet  by  four.  It  was  a  lot 
of  work.  Mrs.  Noah  T.  Clarke  gave  one  to  her 
husband  upon  his  birthday,  April  8.  I  think  every- 
body ought  to  own  a  flag. 

April  26. — Now  we  have  the  news  that  J.  Wilkes 
Booth,  who  shot  the  President  and  who  has  been 


1 88          VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1865 

concealing  himself  in  Virginia,  has  been  caught,  and 
refusing  to  surrender  was  shot  dead.  It  has  taken 
just  twelve  days  to  bring  him  to  retribution.  I  am 
glad  that  he  is  dead  if  he  could  not  be  taken  alive, 
but  it  seems  as  though  shooting  was  too  good  for 
him.  However,  we  may  as  well  take  this  as  really 
God's  way,  as  the  death  of  the  President,  for  if 
he  had  been  taken  alive,  the  country  would  have 
been  so  furious  to  get  at  him  and  tear  him  to  pieces 
the  turmoil  would  have  been  great  and  desperate. 
It  may  be  the  best  way  to  dispose  of  him.  Of 
course,  it  is  best,  or  it  would  not  be  so.  Mr.  Morse 
called  this  evening  and  he  thinks  Booth  was  shot  by 
a  lot  of  cowards.  The  flags  have  been  flying  all 
day,  since  the  news  came,  but  all,  excepting  Albert 
Granger,  seem  sorry  that  he  was  not  disabled  instead 
of  being  shot  dead.  Albert  seems  able  to  look  into 
the  "  beyond  "  and  also  to  locate  departed  spirits. 
His  "  latest  "  is  that  he  is  so  glad  that  Booth  got 
to  h — 1  before  Abraham  Lincoln  got  to  Springfield. 
Mr.  Fred  Thompson  went  down  to  New  York 
last  Saturday  and  while  stopping  a  few  minutes  at 
St.  Johnsville,  he  heard  a  man  crowing  over  the 
death  of  the  President.  Mr.  Thompson  marched  up 
to  him,  collared  him  and  landed  him  nicely  in  the 
gutter.  The  bystanders  were  delighted  and  carried 
the  champion  to  a  platform  and  called  for  a  speech, 
which  was  given.  Quite  a  little  episode.  Every 
one  who  hears  the  story,  says :  "  Three  cheers  for 
F.  F.  Thompson." 


1 865]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  189 

The  other  afternoon  at  our  society  Kate  Lapham 
wanted  to  divert  our  minds  from  gossip  I  think, 
and  so  started  a  discussion  upon  the  respective  char- 
acters of  Washington  and  Napoleon.  It  was  just 
after  supper  and  Laura  Chapin  was  about  resuming 
her  sewing  and  she  exclaimed,  "  Speaking  of  Wash- 
ington, makes  me  think  that  I  ought  to  wash 
my  hands,"  so  she  left  the  room  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

May  7. — Anna  and  I  wore  our  new  poke  bonnets 
to  church  this  morning  and  thought  we  looked  quite 
"  scrumptious,"  but  Grandmother  said  after  we  got 
home,  if  she  had  realized  how  unbecoming  they 
were  to  us  and  to  the  house  of  the  Lord,  she  could 
not  have  countenanced  them  enough  to  have  sat  in 
the  same  pew.  However,  she  tried  to  agree  with 
Dr.  Daggett  in  his  text,  "  It  is  good  for  us  to  be 
here."  It  was  the  first  time  in  a  month  that  he 
had  not  preached  about  the  affairs  of  the  Nation. 

In  the  afternoon  the  Sacrament  was  administered 
and  Rev.  A.  D.  Eddy,  D.  D.,  who  was  pastor  from 
1823  to  1835,  was  present  and  officiated.  Deacon 
Castle  and  Deacon  Hayes  passed  the  communion. 
Dr.  Eddy  concluded  the  services  with  some  personal 
memories.  He  said  that  forty-two  years  ago  last 
November,  he  presided  upon  a  similar  occasion  for 
the  first  time  in  his  life  and  it  was  in  this  very 
church.  He  is  now  the  only  surviving  male  mem- 
ber who  was  present  that  day,  but  there  are  six 


190          VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1865 

women  living,  and  Grandmother  is  one  of  the 
six. 

The  Monthly  Concert  of  Prayer  for  Missions  was 
held  in  the  chapel  in  the  evening.  Dr.  Daggett  told 
us  that  the  collection  taken  for  missions  during  the 
past  year  amounted  to  $500.  He  commended  us 
and  said  it  was  the  largest  sum  raised  in  one  year 
for  this  purpose  in  the  twenty  years  of  his  pastorate. 
Dr.  Eddy  then  said  that  in  contrast  he  would  tell 
us  that  the  collection  for  missions  the  first  year  he 
was  here,  amounted  to  $5,  and  that  he  was  advised 
to  touch  very  lightly  upon  the  subject  in  his  appeals 
as  it  was  not  a  popular  theme  with  the  majority  of 
the  people.  One  member,  he  said,  annexed  three 
ciphers  to  his  name  when  asked  to  subscribe  to  a 
missionary  document  which  was  circulated,  and  an- 
other man  replied  thus  to  an  appeal  for  aid  in  evan- 
gelizing a  portion  of  Asia :  "  If  you  want  to  send 
a  missionary  to  Jerusalem,  Yates  county,  I  will 
contribute,  but  not  a  cent  to  go  to  the  other  side 
of  the  world." 

Rev.  C.  H.  A.  Buckley  was  present  also  and  gave 
an  interesting  talk.  By  way  of  illustration,  he  said 
he  knew  a  small  boy  who  had  been  earning  twenty- 
five  cents  a  week  for  the  heathen  by  giving  up  eating 
butter.  The  other  day  he  seemed  to  think  that  his 
generosity,  as  well  as  his  self-denial,  had  reached 
the  utmost  limit  and  exclaimed  as  he  sat  at  the  table, 
"  I  think  the  heathen  have  had  gospel  enough,  please 
pass  the  butter." 


1865]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  191 

May  10. — Jeff  Davis  was  captured  to-day  at 
Irwinsville,  Ga.,  when  he  was  attempting  to  escape 
in  woman's  apparel.  Mr.  Green  drew  a  picture 
of  him,  and  Mr.  Finley  made  photographs 
from  it.  We  bought  one  as  a  souvenir  of  the 
war. 

The  big  headlines  in  the  papers  this  morning  say, 
'  The  hunt  is  up.  He  brandisheth  a  bowie-knife 
but  yieldeth  to  six  solid  arguments.  At  Irwinsville, 
Ga.,  about  daylight  on  the  loth  instant,  Col.  Prich- 
ard,  commanding  the  4th  Michigan  Cavalry,  cap- 
tured Jeff  Davis,  family  and  staff.  They  will  be 
forwarded  under  strong  guard  without  delay." 
The  flags  have  been  flying  all  day,  and  every  one 
is  about  as  pleased  over  the  manner  of  his  capture 
as  over  the  fact  itself.  Lieutenant  Hathaway,  one 
of  the  staff,  is  a  friend  of  Mr.  Manning  Wells,  and 
he  was  pretty  sure  he  would  follow  Davis,  so  we 
were  not  surprised  to  see  his  name  among  the  cap- 
tured. Mr.  Wells  says  he  is  as  fine  a  horseman  as 
he  ever  saw. 

Monday  evg.,  May  22. — I  went  to  Teachers' 
meeting  at  Mrs.  Worthington's  to-night.  Mrs. 
George  Willson  is  the  leader  and  she  told  us  at  the 
last  meeting  to  be  prepared  this  evening  to  give  our 
opinion  in  regard  to  the  repentance  of  Solomon  be- 
fore he  died.  We  concluded  that  he  did  repent 
although  the  Bible  does  not  absolutely  say  so. 
Grandmother  thinks  such  questions  are  unprofitable, 


192  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1865 

as  we  would  better  be  repenting  of  our  sins,  instead 
of  hunting  up  Solomon's  at  this  late  day. 

May  23. — We  arise  about  5  130  nowadays  and 
Anna  does  not  like  it  very  well.  I  asked  her  why 
she  was  not  as  good  natured  as  usual  to-day  and 
she  said  it  was  because  she  got  up  "  s'urly."  She 
thinks  Solomon  must  have  been  acquainted  with 
Grandmother  when  he  wrote  "  She  ariseth  while  it 
is  yet  night  and  giveth  meat  to  her  household  and 
a  portion  to  her  maidens."  Patrick  Burns,  the 
"  poet,"  who  has  also  been  our  man  of  all  work 
the  past  year,  has  left  us  to  go  into  Mr.  McKechnie's 
employ.  He  seemed  to  feel  great  regret  when  he 
bade  us  farewell  and  told  us  he  never  lived  in  a  bet- 
ter regulated  home  than  ours  and  he  hoped  his  suc- 
cessor would  take  the  same  interest  in  us  that  he 
had.  Perhaps  he  will  give  us  a  recommendation! 
He  left  one  of  his  poems  as  a  souvenir.  It  is  en- 
titled, "  There  will  soon  be  an  end  to  the  war,"  writ- 
ten in  March,  hence  a  prophecy.  He  said  Mr. 
Morse  had  read  it  and  pronounced  it  "  tip  top."  It 
was  mostly  written  in  capitals  and  I  asked  him 
if  he  followed  any  rule  in  regard  to  their  use. 
He  said  "  Oh,  yes,  always  begin  a  line  with  one  and 
then  use  your  own  discretion  with  the  rest." 

May  25. — I  wish  that  I  could  have  been  in  Wash- 
ington this  week,  to  have  witnessed  the  grand  review 
of  Meade's  and  Sherman's  armies.  The  newspaper 


1865]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  193 

accounts  are  most  thrilling.  The  review  com- 
menced on  Tuesday  morning  and  lasted  two  days. 
It  took  over  six  hours  for  Meade's  army  to  pass  the 
grand  stand,  which  was  erected  in  front  of  the 
President's  house.  It  was  witnessed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, Generals  Grant,  Meade,  and  Sherman,  Secre- 
tary Stanton,  and  many  others  in  high  authority. 
At  ten  o'clock,  Wednesday  morning,  Sherman's 
army  commenced  to  pass  in  review.  His  men  did 
not  show  the  signs  of  hardship  and  suffering  which 
marked  the  appearance  of  the  Army  of  the  Poto- 
mac. The  scenes  enacted  were  historic  and  won- 
derful. Flags  were  flying  everywhere  and  win- 
dows, doorsteps  and  sidewalks  were  crowded  with 
people,  eager  to  get  a  view  of  the  grand  armies. 
The  city  was  as  full  of  strangers,  who  had  come 
to  see  the  sight,  as  on  Inauguration  Day.  Very 
soon,  all  that  are  left  of  the  companies,  who  went 
from  here,  will  be  marching  home,  "with  glad  and 
gallant  tread." 

June  3. — I  was  invited  up  to  Sonnenberg  yester- 
day and  Lottie  and  Abbie  Clark  called  for  me  at 
5  130  P.M.,  with  their  pony  and  democrat  wagon. 
Jennie  Rankine  was  the  only  other  lady  present  and, 
for  a  wonder,  the  party  consisted  of  six  gentlemen 
and  five  ladies,  which  has  not  often  been  the  case 
during  the  war.  After  supper  we  adjourned  to  the 
lawn  and  played  croquet,  a  new  game  which  Mr. 
Thompson  just  brought  from  New  York.  It  is 


194  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1865 

something  like  billiards,  only  a  mallet  is  used  instead 
of  a  cue  to  hit  the  balls.  I  did  not  like  it  very 
well,  because  I  couldn't  hit  the  balls  through  the 
wickets  as  I  wanted  to.  "  We  "  sang  all  the  songs, 
patriotic  and  sentimental,  that  we  could  think  of. 
Mr.  Lyon  came  to  call  upon  me  to-day,  before  he 
returned  to  New  York.  He  is  a  very  pleasant 
young  man.  I  told  him  that  I  regretted  that  I  could 
not  sing  yesterday,  when  all  the  others  did,  and 
that  the  reason  that  I  made  no  attempts  in  that  line 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  one  day  in  church,  when 
I  thought  I  was  singing  a  very  good  alto,  my  grand- 
father whispered  to  me,  and  said :  "  Daughter, 
you  are  off  the  key,"  and  ever  since  then,  I  had  sung 
with  the  spirit  and  with  the  understanding,  but  not 
with  my  voice.  He  said  perhaps  I  could  get  some 
one  to  do  my  singing  for  me,  some  day.  I  told  him 
he  was  very  kind  to  give  me  so  much  encouragement. 
Anna  went  to  a  Y.M.C.A.  meeting  last  evening  at 
our  chapel  and  said,  when  the  hymn  "  Rescue  the 
perishing,"  was  given  out,  she  just  "  raised  her 
Ebenezer  "  and  sang  every  verse  as  hard  as  she 
could.  The  meeting  was  called  in  behalf  of  a 
young  man  who  has  been  around  town  for  the  past 
few  days,  with  only  one  arm,  who  wants  to  be  a  min- 
ister and  sells  sewing  silk  and  needles  and  writes 
poetry  during  vacation  to  help  himself  along.  I  have 
had  a  cough  lately  and  Grandmother  decided  yester- 
day to  send  for  the  doctor.  He  placed  me  in  a  chair 
and  thumped  my  lungs  and  back  and  listened  to  my 


1 865]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  195 

breathing  while  Grandmother  sat  near  and  watched 
him  in  silence,  but  finally  she  said,  "  Caroline  isn't 
used  to  being  pounded !  "  The  doctor  smiled  and 
said  he  would  be  very  careful,  but  the  treatment  was 
not  so  severe  as  it  seemed.  After  he  was  gone,  we 
asked  Grandmother  if  she  liked  him  and  she  said 
yes,  but  if  she  had  known  of  his  "  new-fangled  " 
notions  and  that  he  wore  a  full  beard  she  might 
not  have  sent  for  him!  Because  Dr.  Carr  was 
clean-shaven  and  also  Grandfather  and  Dr.  Daggett, 
and  all  of  the  Grangers,  she  thinks  that  is  the 
only  proper  way.  What  a  funny  little  lady  she  is! 

June  8. — There  have  been  unusual  attractions 
down  town  for  the  past  two  days.  About  5  P.M. 
a  man  belonging  to  the  Ravel  troupe  walked  a  rope, 
stretched  across  Main  street  from  the  third  story 
of  the  Webster  House  to  the  chimney  of  the  build- 
ing opposite.  He  is  said  to  be  Blondin's  only  rival 
and  certainly  performed  some  extraordinary  feats. 
He  walked  across  and  then  returned  backwards. 
Then  took  a  wheel-barrow  across  and  returned  with 
it  backwards.  He  went  across  blindfolded  with  a 
bag  over  his  head.  Then  he  attached  a  short 
trapeze  to  the  rope  and  performed  all  sorts  of  gym- 
nastics. There  were  at  least  1,000  people  in  the 
street  and  in  the  windows  gazing  at  him.  Grand- 
mother says  that  she  thinks  all  such  performances 
are  wicked,  tempting  Providence  to  win  the  applause 
of  men.  Nothing  would  induce  her  to  look  upon 


1 96  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1865 

such  things.  She  is  a  born  reformer  and  would 
abolish  all  such  schemes.  This  morning  she  wanted 
us  to  read  the  nth  chapter  of  Hebrews  to  her,  about 
faith,  and  when  we  had  finished  the  forty  verses, 
Anna  asked  her  what  was  the  difference  between 
her  and  Moses.  Grandmother  said  there  were  many 
points  of  difference.  Anna  was  not  found  in  the 
bulrushes  and  she  was  not  adopted  by  a  king's 
daughter.  Anna  said  she  was  thinking  how  the 
verse  read,  "  Moses  was  a  proper  child,"  and  she 
could  not  remember  having  ever  done  anything 
strictly  "  proper  "  in  her  life.  I  noticed  that  Grand- 
mother did  not  contradict  her,  but  only  smiled. 

June  13. — Van  Amburgh's  circus  was  in  town 
to-day  and  crowds  attended  and  many  of  our  most 
highly  respected  citizens,  but  Grandmother  had 
other  things  for  us  to  consider. 

June  1 6. — The  census  man  for  this  town  is  Mr. 
Jeudevine.  He  called  here  to-day  and  was  very  in- 
quisitive, but  I  think  I  answered  all  of  his  ques- 
tions although  I  could  not  tell  him  the  exact  amount 
of  my  property.  Grandmother  made  us  laugh  to- 
day when  we  showed  her  a  picture  of  the  Siamese 
twins,  and  I  said,  "  Grandmother,  if  I  had  been 
their  mother  I  should  have  cut  them  apart  when  they 
were  babies,  wouldn't  you  ?  "  The  dear  little  lady 
looked  up  so  bright  and  said,  "  If  I  had  been  Mrs. 
Siam,  I  presume  I  should  have  done  just  as  she  did." 


1865]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  197 

I  don't  believe  that  we  will  be  as  amusing  as  she 
is  when  we  are  82  years  old. 


Saturday,  July  8. — What  excitement  there  must 
have  been  in  Washington  yesterday  over  the  execu- 
tion of  the  conspirators.  It  seems  terrible  that  Mrs. 
Surratt  should  have  deserved  hanging  with  the 
others.  I  saw  a  picture  of  them  all  upon  a  scaffold 
and  her  face  was  screened  by  an  umbrella.  I  read 
in  one  paper  that  the  doctor  who  dressed  Booth's 
broken  leg  was  sentenced  to  the  Dry  Tortugas. 
Jefferson  Davis,  I  suppose,  is  glad  to  have  nothing 
worse  served  upon  him,  thus  far,  than  confinement 
in  Fortress  Monroe.  It  is  wonderful  that  800,000 
men  are  returning  so  quietly  from  the  army  to  civil 
life  that  it  is  scarcely  known,  save  by  the  welcome 
which  they  receive  in  their  own  homes. 

July  16. — Rev.  Dr.  Buddington,  of  Brooklyn, 
preached  to-day.  His  wife  was  Miss  Elizabeth 
Willson,  Clara  Coleman's  sister.  My  Sunday 
School  book  is  "  Mill  on  the  Floss,"  but  Grand- 
mother says  it  is  not  Sabbath  reading,  so  I  am 
stranded  for  the  present. 

December  8. — Yesterday  was  Thanksgiving  day. 
I  do  not  remember  that  it  was  ever  observed  in 
December  before.  President  Johnson  appointed  it 
as  a  day  of  national  thanksgiving  for  our  many 


ig8  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1865 

blessings  as  a  people,  and  Governor  Fenton  and 
several  governors  of  other  states  have  issued  procla- 
mations in  accordance  with  the  President's  recom- 
mendation. The  weather  was  very  unpleasant,  but 
we  attended  the  union  thanksgiving  service  held  in 
our  church.  The  choir  sang  America  for  the  open- 
ing piece.  Dr.  Daggett  read  Miriam's  song  of 
praise :  "  The  Lord  hath  triumphed  gloriously,  the 
horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown  into  the  sea." 
Then  he  offered  one  of  his  most  eloquent  and  fer- 
vent prayers,  in  which  the  returned  soldiers,  many 
of  whom  are  in  broken  health  or  maimed  for  life, 
in  consequence  of  their  devotion  and  loyalty  to  their 
country,  were  tenderly  remembered.  His  text  was 
from  the  126th  Psalm,  "  The  Lord  hath  done  great 
things  for  us,  whereof  we  are  glad."  It  was  one  of 
his  best  sermons.  He  mentioned  three  things  in 
particular  which  the  Lord  has  done  for  us, 
whereof  we  are  glad:  First,  that  the  war  has 
closed;  second,  that  the  Union  is  preserved;  third, 
for  the  abolition  of  slavery.  After  the  sermon,  a 
collection  was  taken  for  the  poor,  and  Dr.  A.  D. 
Eddy,  who  was  present,  offered  prayer.  The  choir 
sang  an  anthem  which  they  had  especially  prepared 
for  the  occasion,  and  then  all  joined  in  the  doxology. 
Uncle  Thomas  Beals'  family  of  four  united  with  our 
three  at  Thanksgiving  dinner.  Uncle  sent  to  New 
York  for  the  oysters,  and  a  famous  big  turkey, 
with  all  the  usual  accompaniments,  made  us  a  fine 
repast.  Anna  and  Ritie  Tyler  are  reading  together 


1865]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  199 

Irving's  Life  of  Washington,  two  afternoons  each 
week.     I  wonder  how  long  they  will  keep  it  up. 

December  n. — I  have  been  down  town  buying 
material  for  garments  for  our  Home  Missionary 
family  which  we  are  to  make  in  our  society.  Anna 
and  I  were  cutting  them  out  and  basting  them  ready 
for  sewing,  and  grandmother  told  us  to  save  all  the 
basting  threads  when  we  were  through  with  them 
and  tie  them  and  wind  them  on  a  spool  for  use  an- 
other time.  Anna,  who  says  she  never  wants  to  be- 
gin anything  that  she  cannot  finish  in  15  minutes, 
felt  rather  tired  at  the  prospect  of  this  unexpected 
task  and  asked  Grandmother  how  she  happened  to 
contract  such  economical  ideas.  Grandmother  told 
her  that  if  she  and  Grandfather  had  been  wasteful 
in  their  younger  days,  we  would  not  have  any  silk 
dresses  to  wear  now.  Anna  said  if  that  was  the 
case  she  was  glad  that  Grandmother  saved  the  bast- 
ing thread! 


1 866 

February  13. — Our  brother  James  was  married 
to-day  to  Louise  Livingston  James  of  New  York 
City. 

February  20. — Our  society  is  going  to  hold  a  fair 
for  the  Freedmen,  in  the  Town  Hall.  Susie  Dag- 
gett  and  I  have  been  there  all  day  to  see  about  the 
tables  and  stoves.  We  got  Mrs.  Binks  to  come 
and  help  us. 

February  21. — Been  at  the  hall  all  day,  trimming 
the  room.  Mr.  Thompson  and  Mr.  Backus  came 
down  and  if  they  had  not  helped  us  we  would  not 
have  done  much.  Mr.  Backus  put  up  all  the  princi- 
pal drapery  and  made  it  look  beautiful. 

February  22. — At  the  hall  all  day.  The  fair 
opened  at  2  P.M.  We  had  quite  a  crowd  in  the 
evening  and  took  in  over  three  hundred  dollars. 
Charlie  Hills  and  Ellsworth  Daggett  stayed  there 
all  night  to  take  care  of  the  hall.  We  had  a  fish 
pond,  a  grab-bag  and  a  post-office.  Anna  says  they 
had  all  the  smart  people  in  the  post-office  to  write 
the  letters, — Mr.  Morse,  Miss  Achert,  Albert 
Granger  and  herself.  Some  one  asked  Albert 


i866]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  201 

Granger  if  his  law  business  was  good  and  he  said 
one  man  thronged  into  his  office  one  day. 

February  23. — We  took  in  two  hundred  dollars 
to-day  at  the  fair.  We  wound  up  with  an  auction. 
We  asked  Mrs.  George  Willson  if  she  could  not  write 
a  poem  expressing  our  thanks  to  Mr.  Backus  and 
she  stepped  aside  for  about  five  minutes  and  handed 
us  the  following  lines  which  we  sent  to  him.  We 
think  it  is  about  the  nicest  thing  in  the  whole  fair. 

"  In  ancient  time  the  God  of  Wine 
They  crowned  with  vintage  of  the  vine, 
And  sung  his  praise  with  song  and  glee 
And  all  their  best  of  minstrelsy. 
The  Backus  whom  we  honor  now 
Would  scorn  to  wreathe  his  generous  brow 
With  heathen  emblems — better  he 
Will  love  our  gratitude  to  see 
Expressed  in  all  the  happy  faces 
Assembled  in  these  pleasant  places. 
May  joy  attend  his  footsteps  here 
And  crown  him  in  a  brighter  sphere." 

February  24. — Susie  Daggett  and  I  went  to  the 
hall  this  morning  to  clean  up.  We  sent  back  the 
dishes,  not  one  broken,  and  disposed  of  everything 
but  the  tables  and  stoves,  which  were  to  be  taken 
away  this  afternoon.  We  feel  quite  satisfied  with 
the  receipts  so  far,  but  the  expenses  will  be  consid- 
erable. 

In  Ontario  County  Times  of  the  following  week 
we  find  this  card  of  thanks : 


202  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1866 

February  28. — The  Fair  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Freedmen,  held  in  the  Town  Hall  on  Thursday  and 
Friday  of  last  week  was  eminently  successful,  and 
the  young  ladies  take  this  method  of  returning  their 
sincere  thanks  to  the  people  of  Canandaigua  and 
vicinity  for  their  generous  contributions  and  liberal 
patronage.  It  being  the  first  public  enterprise  in 
which  the  Society  has  ventured  independently,  the 
young  ladies  were  somewhat  fearful  of  the  result, 
but  having  met  with  such  generous  responses  from 
every  quarter  they  feel  assured  that  they  need  never 
again  doubt  of  success  in  any  similar  attempt  so 
long  as  Canandaigua  contains  so  many  large  hearts 
and  corresponding  purses.  But  our  village  cannot 
have  all  the  praise  this  time.  The  Society  is  par- 
ticularly indebted  to  Mr.  F.  F.  Thompson  and  Mr. 
S.  D.  Backus  of  New  York  City,  for  their  very  sub- 
stantial aid,  not  only  in  gifts  and  unstinted  patron- 
age, but  for  their  invaluable  labor  in  the  decoration 
of  the  hall  and  conduct  of  the  Fair.  But  for  them 
most  of  the  manual  labor  would  have  fallen  upon 
the  ladies.  The  thanks  of  the  Society  are  espe- 
cially due,  also,  to  those  ladies  who  assisted  per- 
sonally with  their  superior  knowledge  and  older 
experience.  Also  to  Mr.  W.  P.  Fiske  for  his  valu- 
able services  as  cashier,  and  to  Messrs.  Daggett, 
Chapin  and  Hills  for  services  at  the  door ;  and  to  all 
the  little  boys  and  girls  who  helped  in  so  many  ways. 

The  receipts  amounted  to  about  $490,  and  thanks 
to  our  cashier,  the  money  is  all  good,  and  will  soon 


1 866]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  203 

be  on  its  way  carrying  substantial  visions  of  some- 
thing to  eat  and  to  wear  to  at  least  a  few  of  the  poor 
Freedmen  of  the  South. 

By  order  of  Society, 

CARRIE  C.  RICHARDS,  Pres't. 

EMMA  H.  WHEELER,  Sec'y. 

MR.  EDITOR — I  expected  to  see  an  account  of  the 
Young  Ladies'  Fair  in  your  last  number,  but  only 
saw  a  very  handsome  acknowledgment  by  the  ladies 
to  the  citizens.  Your  "  local  "  must  have  been  absent ; 
and  I  beg  the  privilege  in  behalf  of  myself  and  many 
others  of  doing  tardy  justice  to  the  successful  efforts 
of  the  Aid  Society  at  their  debut  February  22nd. 

Gotham  furnished  an  artist  and  an  architect,  and 
the  Society  did  the  rest.  The  decorations  were  in 
excellent  taste,  and  so  were  the  young  ladies.  The 
eatables  were  very  toothsome.  The  skating  pond  was 
never  in  better  condition.  On  entering  the  hall  I 
paused  first  before  the  table  of  toys,  fancy  work  and 
perfumery.  Here  was  the  President,  and  I  hope  I 
shall  be  pardoned  for  saying  that  no  President  since 
the  days  of  Washington  can  compare  with  the  Presi- 
dent of  this  Society.  Then  I  visited  a  candy  table, 
and  hesitated  a  long  time  before  deciding  which  I 
would  rather  eat,  the  delicacies  that  were  sold,  or  the 
charming  creatures  who  sold  them.  One  delicious 
morsel,  in  a  pink  silk,  was  so  tempting  that  I  seriously 
contemplated  eating  her  with  a  spoon — waterfall  and 
all.  [By  the  way,  how  do  we  know  that  the  Romans 
wore  waterfalls?  Because  Marc  Antony,  in  his 
funeral  oration  on  Mr.  Csesar,  exclaimed,  "  O  water 
fall  was  there,  my  countrymen !  "]  At  this  point  my 
attention  was  attracted  by  a  fish  pond.  I  tried  my  luck, 


204  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1866 

caught  a  whale,  and  seeing  all  my  friends  beginning 
to  blubber,  I  determined  to  visit  the  old  woman  who 
lived  in  a  shoe. — She  was  very  glad  to  see  me.  I 
bought  one  of  her  children,  which  the  Society  can 
redeem  for  $1,000  in  smoking  caps. 

The  fried  oysters  were  delicious;  a  great  many 
of  the  bivalves  got  into  a  stew,  and  I  helped  several 
of  them  out.  Delicate  ice  cream,  nicely  "  baked  in 
cowld  ovens,"  was  destroyed  in  immense  quantities. 
I  scream  when  I  remember  the  plates  full  I  devoured, 
and  the  number  of  bright  women  to  whom  I  paid  my 
devours.  Beautiful  cigar  girls  sold  fragrant  Havanas, 
and  bit  off  the  ends  at  five  cents  apiece,  extra.  The 
fair  post-mistress  and  her  fair  clerks,  so  fair  that  they 
were  almost  fairies,  drove  a  very  thriving  business. 

It  was  altogether  a  "  great  moral  show." — Let  no 
man  say  hereafter  that  the  young  ladies  of  Canan- 
daigua  are  uneducated  in  all  that  makes  women  lovely 
and  useful.  Anna  Dickinson  has  no  mission  to  this 
town.  The  members  of  this  Society  have  won  the  ad- 
miration of  all  their  friends,  and  especially  of  the  most 
devoted  of  their  servants,  Q.  E.  D. 


If  I  had  written  that  article,  I  should  have  given 
the  praise  to  Susie  Daggett,  for  it  belongs  to  her. 

Sunday,  June  24. — My  Sunday  School  scholars 
are  learning  the  shorter  catechism.  One  recited 
thirty-five  answers  to  questions  to-day,  another 
twenty-six,  another  twenty,  the  others  eleven. 
Very  well  indeed.  They  do  not  see  why  it  is  called 
the  "  shorter  "  Catechism !  They  all  had  their  am- 
brotypes  taken  with  me  yesterday  at  Finley's — Mary 


1 866]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  205 

Hoyt,  Fannie  and  Ella  Lyon,  Ella  Wood,  Ella  Van 
Tyne,  Mary  Vanderbrook,  Jennie  Whitlaw  and 
Katie  Neu.  They  are  all  going  to  dress  in  white 
and  sit  on  the  front  seat  in  church  at  my  wedding. 
Grandmother  had  Mrs.  Gooding  make  individual 
fruit  cakes  for  each  of  them  and  also  some  for  each 
member  of  our  sewing  society. 

Thursday,  June  21. — We  went  to  a  lawn  fete  at 
Mrs.  F.  F.  Thompson's  this  afternoon.  It  was  a 
beautiful  sight.  The  flowers,  the  grounds,  the 
young  people  and  the  music  all  combined  to  make 
the  occasion  perfect. 

Note:  Canandaigua  is  the  summer  home  of  Mrs. 
Thompson,  who  has  previously  given  the  village  a 
children's  playground,  a  swimming  school,  a  hospital 
and  a  home  for  the  aged,  and  this  year  (1911)  has  pre- 
sented a  park  as  a  beauty  spot  at  foot  of  Canandaigua 
Lake. 

June  28. — Dear  Abbie  Clark  and  Captain  Wil- 
liams were  married  in  the  Congregational  church 
this  evening.  The  church  was  trimmed  beautifully 
and  Abbie  looked  sweet.  We  attended  the  recep- 
tion afterwards  at  her  house.  "  May  calm  and  sun- 
shine hallow  their  clasped  hands." 

July  15. — The  girls  of  the  Society  have  sent  me 
my  flag  bed  quilt,  which  they  have  just  finished.  It 
was  hard  work  quilting  such  hot  days  but  it  is  done 


206  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1866 

beautifully.  Bessie  Seymour  wrote  the  names  on 
the  stars.  In  the  center  they  used  six  stars  for 
"  Three  rousing  cheers  for  the  Union."  The  names 
on  the  others  are  Sarah  McCabe,  Mary  Paul,  Fannie 
Paul,  Fannie  Palmer,  Nettie  Palmer,  Susie  Daggett, 
Fannie  Pierce,  Sarah  Andrews,  Lottie  Clark,  Abbie 
Williams,  Carrie  Lamport,  Isadore  Blodgett,  Nan- 
nie Corson,  Laura  Chapin,  Mary  F.  Fiske,  Lucilla  F. 
Pratt,  Jennie  H.  Hazard,  Sarah  H.  Foster,  Mary 
Jewett,  Mary  C.  Stevens,  Etta  Smith,  Cornelia 
Richards,  Ella  Hildreth,  Emma  Wheeler,  Mary 
Wheeler,  Mrs.  Pierce,  Alice  Jewett,  Bessie  Sey- 
mour, Clara  Coleman,  Julia  Phelps.  It  kept  the  girls 
busy  to  get  Abbie  Clark's  quilt  and  mine  finished 
within  one  month.  They  hope  that  the  rest  of  the 
girls  will  postpone  their  nuptials  till  there  is  a 
change  in  the  weather.  Mercury  stands  90  degrees 
in  the  shade. 

July  19,  1866. — Our  wedding  day.  We  saw  the 
dear  little  Grandmother,  God  bless  her,  watching  us 
from  the  window  as  we  drove  away. 

ALEXANDRIA  BAY,  July  26. — Anna  writes  me  that 
Charlie  Wells  said  he  had  always  wanted  a  set  of 
Clark's  Commentaries,  but  I  had  carried  off  the 
entire  Ed. 

July  28. — As  we  were  changing  boats  at  Burling- 
ton, Vt.,  for  Saratoga,  to  our  surprise,  we  met  Cap- 


1 866]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  207 

tain  and  Abbie  Williams,  but  could  only  stop  a  mo- 
ment. 

SARATOGA,  2gth. — We  heard  Rev.  Theodore  Cuy- 
jer  preach  to-day  from  the  text,  "  Demas  hath  for- 
saken me,  having  loved  this  present  world."  He 
leads  devotional  exercises  every  morning  in  the 
parlors  of  the  Columbian  Hotel.  I  spoke  to  him 
this  morning  and  he  said  my  father  was  one  of  his 
best  and  earliest  friends. 

CANANDAIGUA,  September  i. — A  party  of  us 
went  down  to  the  Canandaigua  hotel  this  morning 
to  see  President  Johnson,  General  Grant  and  Ad- 
miral Farragut  and  other  dignitaries.  The  train 
stopped  about  half  an  hour  and  they  all  gave  brief 
speeches. 

September  2. — Rev.  Darius  Sackett  preached  for 
Dr.  Daggett  this  evening. 


1 867 

July  27. — Col.  James  M.  Bull  was  buried  from 
the  home  of  Mr.  Alexander  Howell  to-day,  as  none 
of  his  family  reside  here  now. 

November  13. — Our  brother  John  and  wife  and 
baby  Pearl  have  gone  to  London,  England,  to  live. 

December  28. — A  large  party  of  Canandaiguans 
went  over  to  Rochester  last  evening  to  hear  Charles 
Dickens'  lecture,  and  enjoyed  it  more  than  I  can 
possibly  express.  He  was  quite  hoarse  and  had 
small  bills  distributed  through  the  Opera  House 
with  the  announcement: 

MR.  CHARLES  DICKENS 

Begs  indulgence  for  a  Severe  Cold,  but  hopes  its 
effects  may  not  be  very  perceptible  after  a  few  minutes' 
Reading. 

Friday,  December  27th,  1867. 

We  brought  these  notices  home  with  us  for  sou- 
venirs. He  looks  exactly  like  his  pictures.  It  was 
worth  a  great  deal  just  to  look  upon  the  man  who 
wrote  Little  Dorrit,  David  Copperfield  and  all  the 
other  books,  which  have  delighted  us  so  much.  We 

208 


1867]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  209 

hope  that  he  will  live  to  write  a  great  many  more. 
He  spoke  very  appreciatively  of  his  enthusiastic  re- 
ception in  this  country  and  almost  apologized  for 
some  of  the  opinions  that  he  had  expressed  in  his 
"  American  Notes,"  which  he  published,  after  his 
first  visit  here,  twenty-five  years  ago.  He  evidently 
thinks  that  the  United  States  of  America  are  quite 
worth  while. 


1871 

'August  6. — Under  the  auspices  of  the  Y.M.C.A., 
Hon.  George  H.  Stuart,  President  of  the  U.  S. 
Christian  Commission,  spoke  in  an  open  air  meet- 
ing on  the  square  this  afternoon  and  in  our 
church  this  evening.  The  house  was  packed  and 
such  eloquence  I  never  heard  from  mortal  lips.  He 
ought  to  be  called  the  Whitefield  of  America.  He 
told  of  the  good  the  Christian  Commission  had  done 
before  the  war  and  since.  Such  war  stories  I  never 
heard.  They  took  up  a  collection  which  must  have 
amounted  to  hundreds  of  dollars. 


210 


1872 

Naples,  June. — John  has  invited  Aunt  Ann  Field, 
and  James,  his  wife  and  me  and  Babe  Abigail  to 
come  to  England  to  make  them  a  visit,  and  we 
expect  to  sail  on  the  Baltic  July  sixth. 

On  board  S.S.  Baltic,  July  7. — We  left  New 
York  yesterday  under  favorable  circumstances.  It 
was  a  beautiful  summer  day,  flags  were  flying  and 
everything  seemed  so  joyful  we  almost  forgot  we 
were  leaving  home  and  native  land.  There  were 
many  passengers,  among  them  being  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Anthony  Drexel  and  U.  S.  Grant,  Jr.,  who  boarded 
the  steamer  from  a  tug  boat  which  came  down  the 
bay  alongside  when  we  had  been  out  half  an  hour. 
President  Grant  was  with  him  and  stood  on  deck, 
smoking  the  proverbial  cigar.  We  were  glad  to 
see  him  and  the  passengers  gave  him  three  cheers 
and  three  times  three,  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm. 

Liverpool,  July  16. — We  arrived  here  to-day, 
having  been  just  ten  days  on  the  voyage.  There 
were  many  clergymen  of  note  on  board,  among 
them,  Rev.  John  H.  Vincent,  D.D.,  eminent  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  who  is  preparing  In- 
ternational Sunday  School  lessons.  He  sat  at  our 

211 


212  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1872 

table  and  Philip  Phillips  also,  who  is  a  noted  evan- 
gelistic singer.  They  held  services  both  Sabbaths, 
July  7  and  15,  in  the  grand  saloon  of  the  steamer, 
and  also  in  the  steerage  where  the  text  was  "  And 
they  willingly  received  him  into  the  ship."  The 
immigrants  listened  eagerly,  when  the  minister 
urged  them  all  to  "  receive  Jesus."  We  enjoyed 
several  evening  literary  entertainments,  when  it  was 
too  cold  or  windy  to  sit  on  deck. 

We  had  the  most  luscious  strawberries  at  dinner 
to-night,  that  I  ever  ate.  So  large  and  red  and  ripe, 
with  the  hulls  on  and  we  dipped  them  in  powdered 
sugar  as  we  ate  them,  a  most  appetizing  way. 

London,  July  17. — On  our  way  to  London  to-day 
I  noticed  beautiful  flower  beds  at  every  station,  mak- 
ing our  journey  almost  a  path  of  roses.  In  the 
fields,  men  and  women  both,  were  harvesting  the 
hay,  making  picturesque  scenes,  for  the  sky  was 
cloudless  and  I  was  reminded  of  the  old  hymn, 
commencing 

"Sweet  fields  beyond  the  swelling  flood, 
Stand  dressed  in  living  green." 

We  performed  the  journey  from  Liverpool  to 
London,  a  distance  of  240  miles,  in  five  hours. 
John,  Laura  and  little  Pearl  met  us  at  Euston  Sta- 
tion, and  we  were  soon  whirled  away  in  cabs  to 
24  Upper  Woburn  Place,  Tavistock  Square,  John's 


1872]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  213 

residence.  Dinner  was  soon  ready,  a  most  bounti- 
ful repast.  We  spent  the  remainder  of  the  day 
visiting  and  enjoying  ourselves  generally.  It 
seemed  so  good  to  be  at  the  end  of  the  journey, 
although  we  had  only  two  days  of  really  unpleasant 
weather  on  the  voyage.  John  and  Laura  are  so 
kind  and  hospitable.  They  have  a  beautiful  home, 
lovely  children  and  apparently  every  comfort  and 
luxury  which  this  world  can  afford. 

Sunday,  July  2.2. — We  went  to  Spurgeon's  Taber- 
nacle this  morning  to  listen  to  this  great  preacher, 
with  thousands  of  others.  I  had  never  looked  upon 
such  a  sea  of  faces  before,  as  I  beheld  from  the  gal- 
lery where  we  sat.  The  pulpit  was  underneath  one 
gallery,  so  there  seemed  as  many  people  over  the 
preacher's  head,  as  there  were  beneath  and  around 
him  and  the  singing  was  as  impressive  as  the  ser- 
mon. I  thought  of  the  hymn,  "  Hark  ten  thousand 
harps  and  voices,  Sound  the  notes  of  praise  above." 
Mr.  Spurgeon  was  so  lame  from  rheumatism  that 
he  used  two  canes  and  placed  one  knee  on  a  chair 
beside  him,  when  preaching.  His  text  was  "  And 
there  shall  be  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth."  I 
found  that  all  I  had  heard  of  his  eloquence  was  true. 

Sunday,  July  29. — We  have  spent  the  entire  week 
sightseeing,  taking  in  Hyde  Park,  Windsor  Castle, 
Westminster  Abbey,  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  the 
Tower  of  London  and  British  Museum.  We  also 


214  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1872 

went  to  Madame  Tussaud's  exhibition  of  wax  fig- 
ures and  while  I  was  looking  in  the  catalogue  for 
the  number  of  an  old  gentleman  who  was  sitting 
down  apparently  asleep,  he  got  up  and  walked  away ! 
We  drove  to  Sydenham  ten  miles  from  London,  to 
see  the  Crystal  Palace  which  Abbie  called  the 
"  Christmas  Palace."  Mr.  Alexander  Howell  and 
Mr.  Henry  Chesebro  of  Canandaigua  are  here  and 
came  to  see  us  to-day. 

August  13. — Amid  the  whirl  of  visiting,  shopping 
and  sightseeing  in  this  great  city,  my  diary  has  been 
well  nigh  forgotten.  The  descriptive  letters  to 
home  friends  have  been  numerous  and  knowing  that 
they  would  be  preserved,  I  thought  perhaps  they 
would  do  as  well  for  future  reference  as  a  diary 
kept  for  the  same  purpose,  but  to-day,  as  St. 
Pancras'  bell  was  tolling  and  a  funeral  procession 
going  by,  we  heard  by  cable  of  the  death  of  our 
dear,  dear  Grandmother,  the  one  who  first  encour- 
aged us  to  keep  a  journal  of  daily  deeds,  and  who 
was  always  most  interested  in  all  that  interested  us 
and  now  I  cannot  refrain  if  I  would,  from  writing 
down  at  this  sad  hour,  of  all  the  grief  that  is  in  my 
heart.  I  sorrow  not  for  her.  She  has  only  stepped 
inside  the  temple-gate  where  she  has  long  been  wait- 
ing for  the  Lord's  entrance  call.  I  weep  for  our- 
selves that  we  shall  see  her  dear  face  no  more.  It 
does  not  seem  possible  that  we  shall  never  see  her 
again  on  this  earth.  She  took  such  an  interest  in 


1872]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  215 

our  journey  and  just  as  we  started  I  put  my  dear 
little  Abigail  Beals  Clarke  in  her  lap  to  receive  her 
parting  blessing.  As  we  left  the  house  she  sat  at 
the  front  window  and  saw  us  go  and  smiled  her 

farewell. 

• 

August  20. — Anna  has  written  how  often  Grand- 
mother prayed  that  "  He  who  holds  the  winds  in  his 
fists  and  the  waters  in  the  hollow  of  his  hands, 
would  care  for  us  and  bring  us  to  our  desired 
haven."  She  had  received  one  letter,  telling  of  our 
safe  arrival  and  how  much  we  enjoyed  going  about 
London,  when  she  was  suddenly  taken  ill  and  Dr. 
Hayes  said  she  could  never  recover.  Anna's  letter 
came,  after  ten  days,  telling  us  all  the  sad  news,  and 
how  Grandmother  looked  out  of  the  window  the 
last  night  before  she  was  taken  ill,  and  up  at  the 
moon  and  stars  and  said  how  beautiful  they  were. 
Anna  says,  "  How  can  I  ever  write  it  ?  Our  dear 
little  Grandmother  died  on  my  bed  to-day." 

August  30. — John,  Laura  and  their  nurse  and 
baby  John,  Aunt  Ann  Field  and  I  started  Tuesday 
on  a  trip  to  Scotland,  going  first  to  Glasgow  where 
we  remained  twenty-four  hours.  We  visited  the 
Cathedral  and  were  about  to  go  down  into  the  crypt 
when  the  guide  told  us  that  Gen.  Sherman  of  U.S.A. 
was  just  coming  in.  We  stopped  to  look  at  him 
and  felt  like  telling  him  that  we  too  were  Americans. 
He  was  in  good  health  and  spirits,  apparently,  and 


2i6  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1872 

looked  every  inch  a  soldier  with  his  cloak  a-la-mili- 
taire  around  him.  We  visited  the  Lochs  and  spent 
one  night  at  Inversnaid  on  Loch  Lomond  and  then 
went  on  up  Loch  Katrine  to  the  Trossachs.  When 
we  took  the  little  steamer,  John  said,  "  All  aboard 
for  Naples,"  it  reminded  him  so  much  of  Canan- 
daigua  Lake.  We  arrived  safely  in  Edinburgh  the 
next  day  by  rail  and  spent  four  days  in  that  charm- 
ing city,  so  beautiful  in  situation  and  in  every 
natural  advantage.  We  saw  the  window  from 
whence  John  Knox  addressed  the  populace  and  we 
also  visited  the  Castle  on  the  hill.  Then  we  went 
to  Melrose  and  visited  the  Abbey  and  also  Abbots- 
ford,  the  residence  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  We  went 
through  the  rooms  and  saw  many  curios  and  paint- 
ings and  also  the  library.  Sir  Walter's  chair  at 
his  desk  was  protected  by  a  rope,  but  Laura,  nothing 
daunted,  lifted  the  baby  over  it  and  seated  him  there 
for  a  moment  saying  "  I  am  sure,  now,  he  will  be 
clever."  We  continued  our  journey  that  night  and 
arrived  in  London  the  next  morning. 

Ventnor,  Isle  of  Wight,  September  9. — Aunt 
Ann,  Laura's  sister,  Florentine  Arnold,  nurse  and 
two  children,  Pearl  and  Abbie,  and  I  are  here  for 
three  weeks  on  the  seashore. 

September  16. — We  have  visited  all  the  neigh- 
boring towns,  the  graves  of  the  Dairyman's  daugh- 
ter and  little  Jane,  the  young  cottager,  and  the  scene 


1872]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  217 

of  Leigh  Richmond's  life  and  labors.  We  have  en- 
joyed bathing  in  the  surf,  and  the  children  playing 
in  the  sands  and  riding  on  the  donkeys. 

We  have  very  pleasant  rooms,  in  a  house  kept  by 
an  old  couple,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tuddenham,  down  on 
the  esplanade.  They  serve  excellent  meals  in  a  most 
homelike  way.  We  have  an  abundance  of  delicious 
milk  and  cream  which  they  tell  me  comes  from 
"Cowes"! 

London,  September  30. — Anna  has  come  to  Eng- 
land to  live  with  John  for  the  present.  She  came 
on  the  Adriatic,  arriving  September  24.  We  are  so 
glad  to  see  her  once  more  and  will  do  all  in  our 
power  to  cheer  her  in  her  loneliness. 

Paris,  October  18. — John,  Laura,  Aunt  Ann  and 
I,  nurse  and  baby,  arrived  here  to-day  for  a  few 
days'  visit.  We  had  rather  a  stormy  passage  on 
the  Channel.  I  asked  one  of  the  seamen  the  name 
of  the  vessel  and  he  answered  me  "  The  H'Albert 
H'Edward,  Miss ! "  This  information  must  have 
given  me  courage,  for  I  was  perfectly  sustained  till 
we  reached  Calais,  although  nearly  every  one  around 
me  succumbed. 

October  22. — We  have  driven  through  the  Bois 
de  Boulogne,  visited  Pere  la  Chaise,  the  Morgue,  the 
ruins  of  the  Tuileries,  which  are  left  just  as  they 
were  since  the  Commune.  We  spent  half  a  day  at 


218  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1872 

the  Louvre  without  seeing  half  of  its  wonders.  I 
went  alone  to  a  photographer's,  Le  Jeune,  to  be 
"  taken "  and  had  a  funny  time.  He  queried 
"  Parlez-vous  Frangais?"  I  shook  my  head  and 
asked  him  "Parlez-vous  Anglaise?"  at  which 
query  he  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  shook  his  head ! 
I  ventured  to  tell  him  by  signs  that  I  would  like  my 
picture  taken  and  he  held  up  two  sizes  of  pictures 
and  asked  me  "  Le  cabinet,  le  vignette?"  I  held 
up  my  fingers,  to  tell  him  I  would  like  six  of  each, 
whereupon  he  proceeded  to  make  ready  and  when 
he  had  seated  me,  he  made  me  understand  that  he 
hoped  I  would  sit  perfectly  still,  which  I  endeavored 
to  do.  After  the  first  sitting,  he  showed  displeasure 
and  let  me  know  that  I  had  swayed  to  and  fro.  An- 
other attempt  was  more  satisfactory  and  he  said 
"  Tres  bien,  Madame,"  and  I  gave  him  my  address 
and  departed. 

October  26. — My  photographs  have  come  and  all 
pronounce  them  indeed  "  tres  bien."  We  visited  the 
Tomb  of  Napoleon  to-day. 

October  27. — We  attended  service  to-day  at  the 
American  Chapel  and  I  enjoyed  it  more  than  I 
can  ever  express.  After  hearing  a  foreign  tongue 
for  the  past  ten  days,  it  seemed  like  getting  home  to 
go  into  a  Presbyterian  church  and  hear  a  sermon 
from  an  American  pastor.  The  singing  in  the 
choir  was  so  homelike,  that  when  they  sang  "  Awake 


1872]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  219 

my  soul  to  joyful  lays  and  sing  thy  great  Redeem- 
er's praise,"  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  heard  a  well 
known  tenor  voice  from  across  the  sea,  especially 
in  the  refrain  "  His  loving  kindness,  oh  how  free." 
The  text  was  "  As  an  eagle  stirreth  up  her  nest,  flut- 
tereth  over  her  young,  spreadeth  abroad  her  wings, 
taketh  them,  beareth  them  on  her  wings,  so  the 
Lord  did  lead  him  and  there  was  no  strange  God 
with  him."  Deut.  32:11.  It  was  a  wonderful 
sermon  and  I  shall  never  forget  it.  On  our  way 
home,  we  noticed  the  usual  traffic  going  on,  building 
of  houses,  women  were  standing  in  their  doors 
knitting  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  sign  of  Sunday 
keeping,  outside  of  the  church. 

London,  October  31. — John  and  I  returned  to- 
gether from  Paris  and  now  I  have  only  a  few  days 
left  before  sailing  for  home.  There  was  an  Eng- 
lishman here  to-day  who  was  bragging  about  the 
beer  in  England  being  so  much  better  than  could  be 
made  anywhere  else.  He  said,  "  In  America,  you 
have  the  'ops,  I  know,  but  you  haven't  the  Thames 
water,  you  know."  I  suppose  that  would  make  a 
vast  difference! 

Sunday,  November  3. — We  went  to  hear  Rev.  Dr. 
Joseph  Parker  preach  at  Exeter  Hall.  He  is  a  new 
light,  comparatively,  and  bids  fair  to  rival  Spur- 
geon  and  Newman  Hall  and  all  the  rest.  He  is 
like  a  lion  and  again  like  a  lamb  in  the  pulpit. 


220  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1872 

Liverpool,  November  6. — I  came  down  to  Liver- 
pool to-day  with  Abbie  and  nurse,  to  sail  on  the 
Baltic,  to-morrow.  There  were  two  Englishmen 
in  our  compartment  and  hearing  Abbie  sing  "  I  have 
a  Father  in  the  Promised  Land,"  they  asked  her 
where  her  Father  lived  and  she  said  "  In  America," 
and  told  them  she  was  going  on  the  big  ship  to- 
morrow to  see  him.  Then  they  turned  to  me  and 
said  they  supposed  I  would  be  glad  to  know  that  the 
latest  cable  from  America  was  that  U.  S.  Grant 
was  elected  for  his  second  term  as  President  of  the 
United  States.  I  assured  them  that  I  was  very  glad 
to  hear  such  good  news. 

November  9. — I  did  not  know  any  of  the  passen- 
gers when  we  sailed,  but  soon  made  pleasant  ac- 
quaintances. Near  me  at  table  are  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sykes  from  New  York  and  in  course  of  conversa- 
tion I  found  that  she  as  well  as  myself,  was  born 
in  Penn  Yan,  Yates  County,  New  York,  and  that 
her  parents  were  members  of  my  Father's  church, 
which  goes  to  prove  that  the  world  is  not  so  very 
wide  after  all.  Abbie  is  a  great  pet  among  the  pas- 
sengers and  is  being  passed  around  from  one  to 
another  from  morning  till  night.  They  love  to 
hear  her  sing  and  coax  her  to  say  "  Grace  "  at  table. 
She  closes  her  eyes  and  folds  her  hands  devoutly 
and  says,  "  For  what  we  are  about  to  receive,  may 
the  Lord  make  us  truly  thankful."  They  all 
say  "  Amen "  to  this,  for  they  are  fearful  that 


1872]       VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  221 

they  will  not  perhaps  be  "  thankful "  when  they 
finish ! 

November  15. — I  have  been  on  deck  every  day 
but  one,  and  not  missed  a  single  meal.  There  was  a 
terrible  storm  one  night  and  the  next  morning  I  told 
one  of  the  numerous  clergymen,  that  I  took  great 
comfort  in  the  night,  thinking  that  nothing  could 
happen  with  so  many  of  the  Lord's  anointed,  on 
board.  He  said  that  he  wished  he  had  thought  of 
that,  for  he  was  frightened  almost  to  death!  We 
have  sighted  eleven  steamers  and  on  Wednesday  we 
were  in  sight  of  the  banks  of  Newfoundland  all  the 
afternoon,  our  course  being  unusually  northerly  and 
we  encountered  no  fogs,  contrary  to  the  expecta- 
tion of  all.  Every  one  pronounces  the  voyage  pleas- 
ant and  speedy  for  this  time  of  year. 

Naples,  N.  Y.,  November  20. — We  arrived  safely 
in  New  York  on  Sunday.  Abbie  spied  her  father 
very  quickly  upon  the  dock  as  we  slowly  came  up 
and  with  glad  and  happy  hearts  we  returned  his 
"  Welcome  home."  We  spent  two  days  in  New 
York  and  arrived  home  safe  and  sound  this 
evening. 

November  21. — My  thirtieth  birthday,  which  we, 
a  reunited  family,  are  spending  happily  together 
around  our  own  fireside,  pleasant  memories  of  the 
past  months  adding  to  the  joy  of  the  hour. 


222  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1872 

From  the  New  York  Evangelist  of  August  15, 
1872,  by  Rev.  Samuel  Pratt,  D.D. 

"  Died,  at  Canandaigua,  N.  Y.,  August  8,  1872, 
Mrs.  Abigail  Field  Beals,  widow  of  Thomas  Beals, 
in  the  89th  year  of  her  age.  Mrs.  Beals,  whose 
maiden  name  was  Field,  was  born  in  Madison, 
Conn.,  April  7,  1784.  She  was  a  sister  of  Rev. 
David  Dudley  Field,  D.D.,  of  Stockbridge,  Mass., 
and  of  Rev.  Timothy  Field,  first  pastor  of  the  Con- 
gregational church  of  Canandaigua.  She  came  to 
Canandaigua  with  her  brother,  Timothy,  in  1800. 
In  1805  she  was  married  to  Thomas  Beals,  Esq., 
with  whom  she  lived  nearly  sixty  years,  until  he 
fell  asleep.  They  had  eleven  children,  of  whom 
only  four  survive.  In  1807  she  and  her  husband 
united  with  the  Congregational  church,  of  which 
they  were  ever  liberal  and  faithful  supporters.  Mrs. 
Beals  loved  the  good  old  ways  and  kept  her  house 
in  the  simple  and  substantial  style  of  the  past.  She 
herself  belonged  to  an  age  of  which  she  was  the 
last.  With  great  dignity  and  courtesy  of  manner 
which  repelled  too  much  familiarity,  she  combined 
a  sweet  and  winning  grace,  which  attracted  all  to 
her,  so  that  the  youth,  while  they  would  almost 
involuntarily  '  rise  up  before  her,'  yet  loved  to  be  in 
her  presence  and  called  her  blessed.  She  possessed 
in  a  rare  degree  the  ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet 
spirit  and  lived  in  an  atmosphere  of  love  and  peace. 
Her  home  and  room  were  to  her  children  and  her 


1872]        VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA  223 

children's  children  what  Jerusalem  was  to  the  saints 
of  old.  There  they  loved  to  resort  and  the  saddest 
thing  in  her  death  is  the  sundering  of  that  tie  which 
bound  so  many  generations  together.  She  never 
ceased  to  take  a  deep  interest  in  the  prosperity  of 
the  beautiful  village  of  which  she  and  her  husband 
were  the  pioneers  and  for  which  they  did  so  much 
and  in  the  church  of  which  she  was  the  oldest  mem- 
ber. Her  mind  retained  its  activity  to  the  last  and 
her  heart  was  warm  in  sympathy  with  every  good 
work.  While  she  was  well  informed  in  all  current 
events,  she  most  delighted  in  whatever  concerned 
the  Kingdom.  Her  Bible  and  religious  books  were 
her  constant  companions  and  her  conversation  told 
much  of  her  better  thoughts,  which  were  in  Heaven. 
Living  so  that  those  who  knew  her  never  saw  in 
her  anything  but  fitness  for  Heaven,  she  patiently 
awaited  the  Master's  call  and  went  down  to  her 
grave  in  a  full  age  like  a  shock  of  corn  fully  ripe  that 
cometh  in  its  season." 

I  don't  think  I  shall  keep  a  diary  any  more,  only 
occasionally  jot  down  things  of  importance.  Mr. 
Noah  T.  Clarke's  brother  got  possession  of  my  little 
diary  in  some  way  one  day  and  when  he  returned  it 
I  found  written  on  the  fly-leaf  this  inscription  to 
the  diary: 

"  You'd  scarce  expect  a  volume  of  my  size 
To  hold  so  much  that's  beautiful  and  wise, 


224  VILLAGE  LIFE  IN  AMERICA        [1872 

And  though  the  heartless  world  might  call  me  cheap 
Yet  from  my  pages  some  much  joy  shall  reap. 
As  monstrous  oaks  from  little  acorns  grow, 
And  kindly  shelter  all  who  toil  below, 
So  my  future  greatness  and  the  good  I  do 
Shall  bless,  if  not  the  world,  at  least  a  few." 

I  think  I  will  close  my  old  journal  with  the  mot- 
toes which  I  find  upon  an  old  well-worn  writing 
book  which  Anna  used  for  jotting  down  her  youth- 
ful deeds.  On  the  cover  I  find  inscribed,  "  Try  to 
be  somebody,"  and  on  the  back  of  the  same  book,  as 
if  trying  to  console  herself  for  unexpected  achieve- 
ment which  she  could  not  prevent,  "  Some  must  be 
great !  " 


i88o 

June  17. — Our  dear  Anna  was  married  to-day  to 
Mr.  Alonzo  A.  Cummings  of  Oakland^  Cal.,  and  has 
gone  there  to  live.  I  am  sorry  to  haye  her  go  so  far 
away,  but  love  annihilates  space.  There  is  no  real 
separation,  except  in  alienation  of  spirit,  and  that 
can  never  come — to  us. 


THE   END 


125 


BOOKS  TO  MAKE  ELDERS  YOUNG  AGAIN 
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PHOEBE  AND  ERNEST 

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THE  HOME  BOOK  OF  VERSE 

American  and  English  (1580-1912) 

Compiled  by  BURTON  E.  STEVENSON.  Collects  the  best  short 
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body says  is  good,  but  also  the  verses  that  everybody 
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3,120  unabridged  poems  from  some  1,100  authors. 

It  brings  together  in  one  volume  the  best  short  poetry 
of  the  English  language  from  the  time  of  Spencer,  with 
especial  attention  to  American  verse. 

The  copyright  deadline  has  been  passed,  and  some  three 
hundred  recent  authors  are  included,  very  few  of  whom 
appear  in  any  other  general  anthology,  such  as  Lionel 
Johnson,  Noyes,  Housman,  Mrs.  Meynell,  Yeats,  Dobson, 
Lang,  Watson,  Wilde,  Francis  Thompson,  Gilder,  Le 
Gallienne,  Van  Dyke,  Woodberry,  Riley,  etc.,  etc. 

The  poems  as  arranged  by  subject,  and  the  classifica- 
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comprehensive  sections  are:  Children's  rhymes  (300 
pages) ;  love  poems  (800  pages) ;  nature  poetry  (400 
pages);  humorous  verse  (500  pages);  patriotic  and  histor- 
ical poems  (600  pages);  reflective  and  descriptive  poetry 
(400  pages).  No  other  collection  contains  so  many  popu- 
lar favorites  and  fugitive  verses. 

~~          DELIGHTFUL  POCKET  ANTHOLOGIES 

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children.  Compiled  by  Percy 
Withers. 

THE  VISTA  OF  ENGLISH  VERSE 

Compiled  by  Henry  S.  Pan- 
coast.  From  Spencer  to  Kip- 
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Compiled  by  Laura  E.  Lock- 
wood  and  Amy  R.  Kelly.  Some 
150  letters. 

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(About    "The    Continent.") 
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compiled  by  E.  V.  Lucas. 

THE  POETIC  OLD-WORLD 

Compiled  by  Miss  L.  H. 
Humphrey.  Covers  Europe,  in- 
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